Floating Through
by gurl3677
Summary: This fic is based off Norman Reedus' movie Floating.Van meets a girl who is as alone as he is.She had no mother and a cranky, shut in father.For once, there is someone in his life that understands him but the closer he gets to her, the more he sees that she may need him more than he needs her.Van/OC
1. Chapter 1

_* So I am really struggling with my Boondock story and needed a break. I saw Norman Reedus' movie, Floating on youtube and just fell in love with Van. I started writing this story and have seven chapters done. Thank you to the betas that helped me through this first chapter! Please Review!*_

Slowly, Van's legs swung back and forth as he sat on the dock over the lake he had grown up on. His lips were pressed tightly together but he was biting in the inside of them on the left side. He was mad and needed some time alone. It was the end of May and he knew all his friends would be coming back from college and he didn't want to see them. Well, he wanted to see Julie. He was, at least, excited to see her. They had kind of been a couple during the end of their high school years and had plans to go off to college together until Van realized that he couldn't leave. Not yet. He just couldn't leave his dad yet. Now it was two years later, and he still wasn't ready to go.

A noise a few yards ahead of him caught Van's attention and brought his head up. A small boat was slowly gliding across the water with a young girl sitting in it alone. She had rowed out to the spot and he could see that she was crying. Over the slight slaps of the water against the boat, he could hear her sobs. Van frowned and watched as she stood up with yellow thin nylon rope in her hands. She quickly tied the end of it around her right wrist, giving it a few tugs to make sure it was good and tight. When she was satisfied with her job, she bend down and picked up a small metal object. She struggled slightly with the weight, tilting to the side before straightening herself again. Van's frown deepen when he noticed the rope around her wrist was also around the metal object.

" What the fuck?" He whispered as he pulled his legs up and started to stand. To his horror, she tossed the metal object into the lake...then jumped in after it. " What the fuck!" He yelled. The part of the lake she had placed her small boat wasn't deep but it was deep enough that the water would be over her head and she would drown. He jumped into the water after her.

Van pushed himself towards the area she had disappeared in. The coolness of the water sliced across his skin as his legs propelled him forward. He ducked his head under the surface and started swimming down into the depths. It didn't take long before he felt silky strands of hair touch his fingers. His hands moved down until he touched a face, neck, then shoulders.

He felt down her arms until he felt the rope around her wrist. He held on tight to her with one hand while his other one went to his back pocket, where he kept his pocket knife. He yanked it out of the pocket, struggled to bring the knife out then tugged on the rope. He brought her hand through the water, knowing every second she had without air was critical. His own lungs were starting to burn and he hadn't been in the water as long as she had.

The slice of his knife freed the girl from the metal weight. Van started kicking as hard as he could, gripping her wrist with one hand and pushed them through the water with the other. Seconds later, the much needed air hit his face. Van inhaled as deeply as he could, coughing a few seconds later. He lost his hold on his knife as he grabbed at her with both hands. He yanked her up and against his chest.

" Hey!" Van yelled as her back hit his chest. Her head lobbed back against his shoulder but her hair was covering her face so he couldn't tell if she was breathing. " Hey you!" Van yelled as he started swimming on his back.

He slipped one arm under her arms and across her chest while his other arm worked to bring him towards the shore. He continued to call out to her, giving her a shake and a squeeze as best as he could with his one arm but she never responded to him. Van started to swear and kick his legs harder. Slower and slower the shore was coming and soon Van felt the muddy bottom of the lake. He turned slightly to his side and yanked on her harder.

" Girl!" Van yelled. His hand sank into the bank of the lake so he turned again and pulled her forward. He pushed the strands of her dark and blond hair from her face then pressed his fingertips to her throat. "Shit!" Van yelled when he couldn't feel a heartbeat. He dropped his head to her chest and held his breath. " Shit." He whispered.

Thankfully, Van knew how to give CPR. He had been taught how to do the technique years ago and always made sure he kept up with it every year. He linked his hands together, placed them over her heart as he sat up on his knees, and started to pump. He worked the compressions, counting out loud as he had been taught to do then dropped down to her face. He tilted her head back, plugged her nose and fastened his mouth against her. He blew into her mouth as hard as he could before pulling away again.

Another round of compressions, two more breaths into her body had Van begging her to breath. His work and words seemed to start to work. Her chest shot up slightly, her eyes opened and she gave a short inhale before water bubbled out of her mouth and she started to cough. Van rolled her to her side with her face away from him. He started to rub her back quickly.

" That's it!" He said quickly while she gasp for breath and coughed. " Get it out! Good job!" Van coached.

One of her hands came up and through the mud. She pushed herself up slightly and rolled onto her stomach more. She wretched but only water came out of her. He patted her back a little more forcefully and continued to encourage her to breath. She coughed, gagged then coughed. A few minutes went by before she almost collapsed onto her side with her eyes shut, panting as she did so.

" You're alright. It's okay now." Van was saying over and over again. She opened her eyes and turned onto her back. She brought her hands up and rubbed at her eyes as she coughed again. She wiped some mud across her forehead before she looked up at him.

" Who are you?" She asked with her voice raspy.

" Who am I? That's all you have to say? You just tried to kill yourself!" Van explained. She brought her hands to the ground and pushed herself up, forcing Van to sit back.

" You saw that?" She asked. In disbelief, Van's hands dropped to his thighs. His heart was racing and was in his throat while she seemed almost calm.

" Fuck yeah I did! I was sitting on the dock when you jumped in!" He explained.

" I should go." The girl said as she started to rise. Van's mouth dropped open while he watched her stand. She staggered slightly, making Van shoot up and grab at her arm. " I'm okay. I'm okay." She said.

" Like hell you are!" Van explained.

" No, really, I am." She said, taking her arm back from him. " Thank you." She said, looking up at him with bright green eyes.

" What the hell?" Van asked. She started backing up on shaky legs while gathering up her tangled hair in her hands.

" Thank you, really. I mean it. Wow. I can't even...express my thanks enough to you." She said with a nod. Van watched, unable to move or speak as she turned and hurried away from him.

NRNRNR

Van sighed as he strolled through the small store later that day. He needed beer and smokes and lucky for him, one of his old friends that didn't go to college was working that night so he knew he'd get to buy the beer. A few short months and he'd turn twenty one and not have to worry about when his friend was working. For now, getting John's schedule was a must, and today he was more thankful than usual. His mind was still spinning around and it hadn't slowed since he had saved the strange girl from suicide.

" Dad, you know you can't drink that shit." Van's steps faltered at the sound of the voice in the next aisle. He heart started to pound harder. That was her voice. He knew because he had spent the afternoon going over the events and had her voice memorize.

" I can drink what I want. I'm a grown ass man." An older voice snapped.

Van started walking again, needing to see if it was the same girl. He reached the end of his aisle at the same time she reached hers. Shock rolled through him and echoed in her eyes. She looked different than he last saw her, cleaner. Her clothes were dry, her hair was pulled up in a very messy bun style with strands framing her face. He could see that it was colored, with alternating blond and dark brown colors through it. She had a piercing on the right side of her bottom lip that she was chewing out slightly.

" Oh...hi." She said when she released the piercing.

" Hey." Van said.

She looked down the aisle way, making Van turned his head to see what she was looking at. An older man, about the same age of his own dad was standing a few yards away, looking up at the shelves of booze. Van looked back at the girl as she looked at him. She was wearing a long sleeve, tight white shirt and a pair of loose fitting black cargo pants. Small black converses, much like his, were peaking out from her pants. Her fingers were working quickly inside her sleeves, he knew because he could see movement flash every so often.

" So...are you okay?" Van asked. Her hands shot out of her sleeves suddenly. She grabbed his arm and started forward, forcing him to walk backwards.

" Can we not talk about that right now? That's my dad." She whispered quickly. He glanced over her head then back at her again.

" Yeah, okay." Van said with a small nod. She visually relaxed as her hands slipped from his arm.

" Thanks." She said.

" So are you?" Van asked.

" Am I what?" She asked.

" Okay? Are you okay?" He asked.

" Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. That was stupid of me and I'm really thankful you saw it." She said with a smile. Van frowned at how lighthearted she seemed about trying to drown herself. If he hadn't seen her, she'd be dead right now but instead, she was smiling up at him.

" Yeah." He said slowly. " I'm glad I saw it too."

" I'm Avalon, by the way." She said, sticking one of her hands out for him to shake. One of Van's eyebrows went up but he slowly took her hand and shook it.

" Van." He said.

" Avalon, I'm ready." She looked over her shoulder at the same time Van did. The older man had come out of the aisle and was staring at them.

" Okay, Dad." She looked back at Van, dropped his hand and shrugged. " It was nice to see you again, and actually meet you." She said while she walked backwards.

" You too." Van said. She sucked in her piercing and smiled again before she turned around and jogged back to her dad.

" Who is that?" Van heard her dad ask. She placed a hand on the man's arm and started leading him towards the check out.

" Just a friend I met when I was out earlier. Come on, Daddy, I'm hungry." Avalon said.

NRNRNR

Van snuck out of his house as soon as his dad was sleeping. He crossed through his darkened yard, slipping one of his cigarettes into his mouth. The warm night air surrounded him, licking against the bare skin of his arms. He had bought his beer, tied it to a string then tied the other end of the string to the dock, to keep it cool. And now he was ready to have some drinks. He needed something to relax him. In just a few short days, his crew would be rolling back into town and Van was both excited and nervous.

Van hit the well worn path that would take him from his house to the dock he always went too. It was deep in the woods, resting on a little known spot on the lake. It was private and alone, just like he wanted to be. Alone. He needed to be alone to think, to get his head on straight. He wanted to see Julie, didn't he? Yeah, he did because Van knew to see Julie would mean getting laid. Before she left, they had had a very sexual relationship and Van hadn't seen anyone since.

Light slashing got Van's attention again. He squinted his eyes and bend down behind some bushes when he neared the dock. He cursed quietly when he noticed someone was sitting on the dock with their legs dangling over the edge. He didn't want to see anyone. He wanted to be alone to think, something he couldn't do in the shit hole house he shared with his dad. Van frowned and straighten up. He would just go and get his beer than leave.

And that was his plan. He was sure it was a solid one until he reached the door, stepped on a stick and attracted the stranger's attention. To his surprise, Avalon sat up straight and turned to look at him. Van slowed his steps and put his hands in his pockets. She smiled at him as he stepped onto the dock, feeling unsure of what he should say to her.

" Hi again." Avalon said.

" Ah, hey." Van's voice was softer than usual and he knew it. But how was one supposed to act when one saves the life of a girl who wanted to kill herself. " What are you doing?"

" Don't worry. I'm not trying to kill myself. I tried once and failed so I'm giving it up." She said. Her light attitude towards the events shocked Van so he started to rub the back of his neck.

" Good." He said. He reached the middle of the dock and stopped walking. " So...um...you want a beer?" He heard himself asking.

" Sure." Avalon said. Van nodded then slowly sank down to his knees. He leaned over the side of the dock and grabbed at the string. He pulled the beer out of the water then quickly untied the six pack. " You keep your beer in the lake?" He nodded as he straighten up, hearing the laughter in her voice.

" Yeah. it keeps them cool." He said, walking over towards her.

She turned to the face the lake again, linking her ankles together and making room for Van at the edge. He sat down beside her, pulled off two beers then sat the rest aside. He handed one over to her before wiping off the top of his own. While they readied their beers, Van quickly gave her a once over. Sitting in between them were her black converse shoes, one of top of the other. She had changed from her pants to a pair of soft looking shorts. The tip of her small toes were dancing over the water's surface as she slowly swung her legs.

" So where did you move into?" Van asked as he turned his attention out to the lake.

" That empty house on Mac's Lane." Avalon answered as she popped the tad on her beer. That was just one street over from Van's old house.

" The old Rowe place?" Van asked.

" I guess so but now it's the new Weathervane place." The two looked at each other at the same time. Avalon smiled again. " That's my last name." Van found himself smiling before he chuckled and looked away to take a drink.

" So why did you do it?" Van asked.

" And that is a question who's answer will come when I know you better." Avalon said, making him look back at her quickly before looking away. Silence settled over them. Van bit into his bottom lip, left side again, his favorite side. She took a few drinks while he squinted his eyes. Finally, he took a deep breath,

" Where did you come from?" He asked after swallowing.

" Pennsylvania." Avalon said, taking her own drink.

" You move here with your parents?" Van asked.

" No, just me and my dad." She said. She brought the beer back to her pale pink lips and closed her eyes to take another drink.

" Where's your mom? Did she die?" Van asked.

" No. She's out there." Avalon said. Van gave her a sideways glance to find her drinking again.

" She left?" He asked her in surprise. Avalon smiled in the darkness before she laughed, making him look at her again.

" And yet another question that will have to wait on it's answer." She said. She looked at him with her smile still in place. " I need to go. Thanks for the beer, Van. And saving my life. You're cute. I hope I see you around." She placed a hand on his shoulder, leaned in and kissed his cheek before she snatched up her shoes. She pulled her legs up, stood up and walked away from him. Van turned and placed one hand on the dock to watch her disappear into the darkness.

Maybe this summer won't be so boring after all.


	2. Chapter 2

_* Please Review! I'm glad this story is being accepted so quick. I think this is the only Floating Fan Fic here but I could be wrong. I asked FFN to make a category for it and as soon as they do, it will be moved to there instead of Misc Movies. Thank you!*_

" Van!" Van groaned and turned his head from the wall to his door as he laid on his stomach with his hands under his pillow. He groaned and squeezed his eyes shut harder. This time he won't get up. This time, he'd lay there and let his dad sleep alone. " Van!"

" I'm coming!" He yelled, pushing himself up. He turned in the bed and stood up with a shake of his head. He ran his hand through his hair as he walked out of his room and through the house. He walked into his dad's room, moved the wheelchair away from the bed then laid down next to his dad.

" Do you want some blankets?" His dad asked.

" Ah, no. No, I'm good, thanks." Van said.

As he laid in the darkness of his dad's room, Van stared at the ceiling. This was an every night thing. His dad had a hard time sleeping alone and, because Van loved his only remaining parent and felt bad for his dad, Van catered to him and would lay with him. But only until the man fell asleep. Van waited and stared. Thankfully, it didn't take long before his dad's breathing changed, slipping into the steady, even tone that told Van he was sleeping. Van looked over at him before he carefully left the bed and then the room.

" I have no life." Van muttered to himself as he wandered into his room.

Instead of going to his bed, he went over to his window and his telescope. He never used it anymore. His mom had got it for him when he was a young teen, wanting to star gaze with her son. It had been set up and used for a while but then she left. He knew he should take it down but couldn't bring himself to do it.

With a sigh, he took a hold of the telescope, closed one eye and looked into the instrument. It was aimed at the stars but Van found himself moving the telescope down. Without thinking too hard about what he was doing, Van quickly found the house on Mac Lane, the new Weathervane house. The house was right on the lake and he had a clear view of it...and then her.

Avalon was standing on one of the balconies, leaning forward with her hands clasped together. She looked like she was staring out over the lake but he couldn't be sure. The light was on in the room behind her but he still couldn't make out her face. What was she thinking about? Did she want to end her life again? If she jumped off the balcony and into the lake, could Van reach her before she drown?

" Don't do it." Van whispered.

As if she heard him, Avalon stood up straight. She reached up and behind her head. A second later, her hair tumbled down her back, freed from the tie that had held it in place. She put both hands into it as she tilted her head back and turned around. She seem to fluff it while she walked into the room, he guessed to be her room. She shut the french doors but not the curtains. She pulled her shirt over her head with her back to him. Van stood up straight, feeling bad that he was watching her. Than again...it's not like she knew. Van swallowed hard then looked back through his telescope. She was covering her breasts with one arm as she grabbed at her curtain with her free hand. She walked the curtain shut, shutting him out of her room. Van frowned but stood up again.

" Shit." He cursed as he looked down at his shorts. Yeah, he was hard.

NRNRNR

Van was laying on Julie's bed with her on top of him the next day. His hands were holding onto her hips but even though they were making out, Van could tell she wasn't into it. Truth be told, he wasn't feeling that into it either. He had been excited to see her, excited to get laid but now, he just couldn't get into it. As his tongue moved against hers, he could feel her lack of excitement and was sure it was affecting his.

" What's wrong?" Van asked Julie as she pulled away with a sigh.

" Nothing." She said, laying down beside him.

' Here it comes.' Van told himself.

As he sat on her bed and listened to her make excuses, Van's eyes drifted to her window and out over the lake. Didn't she get it? Didn't she understand? He couldn't just leave his dad and it's not like he had the money for college anyway. Van sighed and pushed himself off her bed. He yanked his shirt off her computer chair and tried to tamp down his annoyance with her.

" Van." She said.

" Forget it." Van snapped.

" It's just..." She started.

" I get it. It's over. You probably have a college boyfriend that you don't want to tell me about anyway. I don't care. Whatever. I don't want to do this anymore either." He snapped before he hurried out of her room. She hated her old room, hated her house, and hated her life there on the lake.

Everything was changing and changing fast. Well, everything and everyone but him. His life was stuck. His friends, his...whatever Julie was, had been,...everyone. Van frowned and thrust his hands into his pockets as he left Julie's house. Maybe he should get a job but then again, who would take care of his dad? Speaking of his dad, Van picked up pace to hurry home. Since he wasn't going to be having sex, he might as well hurry up and go do the grocery shopping.

" I fucking should have seen this coming." Van muttered to himself.

He pulled out his pack of smokes, pulled one out then slipped them back into it's place. His lighter was next. Of course Julie had met someone in college. She didn't actually say that but Van knew that was it. She had seen life outside of their lake home and she wanted it. Van couldn't really blame her for that. He wanted to know what life was like out there too.

" Dad!" Van yelled when he walked into his house. " Let's go!"

A short time later found Van pushing his dad in his wheelchair through the store. He kept the wheelchair close to the aisles so Chad could grab whatever he needed. Van sighed again and tried to make light conversation but his dad wasn't in the mood. No surprise there. He was never in the mood, for anything. Van tried his best, he always did. He tried to get his dad to go fishing with him like they used too. He tried to share the news around the lake. He tried to cheer him up but nothing ever worked.

" You eat too much meat." Chad mumbled when Van announced they were going to get some cold cuts.

" I like meat." Van countered.

" I like meat." Chad mocked. Van smiled and started to spin the wheelchair, mocking his dad, mocking him, hoping to make Chad laugh. " Van!" But he didn't. Van started spinning the chair faster and actually found himself laughing until his dad snapped for him to knock it off. Van slowed down until he stopped completely. He sighed, knowing his dad was mad and not playing around but before he could say anything, he looked up and caught Avalon's eyes.

" Hey." Van said, standing up straight.

" Hi." She said with a smile. Chad looked up at his son then the strange girl. He frowned but grabbed at the wheels of his chair.

" Hurry up." He muttered to Van before wheeling himself away to give them some privacy. Van's hands went into his pockets. He grabbed at his lighter with one hand and his smokes with the other, just to give his hands something to do. Avalon was holding onto a small basket with both hands on the handles.

" Is that your thing? Taking handicap people and spinning them until they throw up?" She teased. Van rubbed his lips together as one of his hands shot up to rub at the back of his neck.

" He's not a person. He's my dad. I mean, he is a person! He's just not someone I don't know. I wouldn't spin someone I don't know around." Van said quickly.

" Right. You'd only torture your dad." Avalon said, making him nod as he dropped his hand down.

" Right. Well no. I don't torture him." He corrected, making her laugh.

" I'm teasing you, Van. I don't think you torture him. I mean, I do that kind of shit to my dad. I don't spin him around but I tease him about getting fat and old." She said.

" Yeah. It's like that, fun teasing." Van said. " Um..." He brought his hand to his bottom lip and started to rub it as he nodded to himself. Yeah, he could do this...was going to do this. " so, um, do you want to hang out or something? I could...you know...show you around the town. Or whatever." Avalon's small smile spread into a grin, lighting up her already pretty features. She shifted her weight from her right leg to her left and held the basket against her stomach tighter while she shrugged her tiny shoulders.

" Yeah, I would love that." She said.

" Yeah, okay. So I know what house you live at so I can stop by later today. Is that okay?" Van asked.

" Absolutely. I will be home in about an hour so come anytime after that." Avalon said.

" Van!" Chad called out. Van looked over at his dad then back at the new girl.

" I'll see you later than." He said.

" You will." Avalon said.

Almost an hour later, Van was walking up the driveway to the old Rowe house. He squinted at the sunlight as it hit his face. He dropped his head down, once again going over what he was wearing. Black tank top, camouflage cargo pants and grey converse shoes. Should he have changed? He hadn't really thought about it before he left the house. It had been so long since he had a date with a girl and he never had a date with a girl that he didn't know, a girl he hadn't grown up with. And this was a date, wasn't it? Van frowned. Did he want it to be?

" Hey you!" Van's head shot up as his steps stopped. Avalon was standing on the wrap around porch, just above his head. She was smiling down at him with her hands on the railing. Van shaded his eyes with one hand, blocking out the sun so he could see better, and smiled.

" Hey." He said.

" The door is unlocked. Just come in and I'll meet you there." Avalon said.

" Yeah, okay." Van answered.

Avalon smiled before she turned and started back into the house. Yeah, this was a date. She had changed her clothes and her hair. Her long strands were now curled in spiral curls down her back and she was wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and a tight fitting, dark blue wife beater tank top. And she looked great, he had to admit.

Van gently pushed open the door located just under the porch. He walked in found a set of stairs directly in front of him and nothing else. Van shut the door with his shoe then took a hold of the rails and started up the stairs, stepping on every other stair as he hurried. The sound of a TV was coming from somewhere in the house and it didn't take long before Van reached the main part of the house and saw where.

The house was an open plan so off to Van's left was a large kitchen and dining room area. In front of him was another set of stairs and to his right was the living room. Like a lot of houses on the lake, the walls were big windows, so the living room overlooked the lake and the kitchen and dining room looked out into the woods. Natural light spilled in from the floor to ceiling windows. The TV that was on, was at the fair end of the living room and Van could see her dad sitting on the couch with his back to the younger man.

" Dad!" Avalon called out as she appeared at the top of the stairs in front of Van. She gave him a small wave while she jogged down the stairs. The man turned from the couch, caught Van's eyes then stood up.

" Where are you going?" He asked, starting through the room. " And who is this?" Avalon jumped over the last step, smiled at Van then faced her dad.

" So this is Van, that guy I told you I met on my walk the other day." She looked back at Van. " This is my dad, Gideon."

" I expect you to mind your manners with my daughter." Gideon said with a cold look in his eyes. Avalon rolled her eyes and shook her head.

" Dad, it's not like we're going off into the woods to have sex, chill." She said. At her words, Van saw a muscle in Gideon's neck tense. Van was a little stunned by what she said and didn't know what to say.

" I...I will. I swear." Van stuttered out.

" Be home by dinner." Gideon said to Avalon while he stared hard at Van.

" I will. I love you." Avalon kissed Gideon's cheek then took a hold of Van's arm. " Come on." She looped her arm around his and turned him around to start down the stairs.

" I don't think your dad likes me already." Van said quietly, looking behind them as Gideon filled the stairway with his hands low on his hips. He was staring down at the young couple with a deep frown. Van looked away quickly as Avalon squeezed his arm.

" He doesn't like anyone." She said. " Never mind him. Let's go have fun."


	3. Chapter 3

_* Please Review! Again, I am surprised by how many people like this. It's hard to write stories for some of these movies because they aren't well known so I'm never sure how they will be received. PrincessPipi__**:**__ I am trying to promote his older and lesser known movies but writing stories about them. If you look through Fan Fic, you will see that a lot of his movies are here with stories. I have been emailing FFN asking them to add the movies then posting stories. I am slowly working through the films so I hope you check them out.*_

" So how long have you lived here, Van?" Avalon asked as they strolled down by the lake shore.

" Since birth." Van said. He snatched up a rock from the ground and skipped it across the lake's still surface.

" That must be nice. I have never lived in one place for longer than a year." Avalon said. Van frowned and looked at her but she was watching the ground in front of them.

" I thought you said you were from Pennsylvania." He said. Avalon crossed her arms over her chest and looked up at him.

" No. You asked where I came from. I came here from Pennsylvania. My dad and I have lived all over the country but we have never stayed somewhere for longer than a year." She said.

" Why? Is your dad in the ARMY or something?" Van asked.

" No. He gets restless and we move." She said with a small shrug.

" Well what's he do for a living?" Van asked. Because if there was one thing Van knew, it took money to be able to move around like that. If it didn't, he'd leave...right?

" He restores old documents and translates them for museums. My dad doesn't really like leaving the house much so the documents get sent to our house. He does what he does, sends them back and gets paid." Avalon said.

" Your dad sounds smart." Van said.

" Yeah he is. What about your dad?" Van looked ahead of them, stuffing his hands back into this pockets. He didn't like talking about his dad. Talking about his dad would lead to talk and questions about his mom and he did not want to go there, not yet. He fingered his pack of smokes and his lighter, an idea forming quickly.

" Hey you care if I smoke?" He asked, looking at her again.

" No, I don't care." Avalon said, still smiling at him.

Van nodded, pulling the pack and lighter out. He popped one cigarette in his mouth, replaced the pack in his pocket then cupped his hands, bring the lighter flame to the tip of the cigarette. This would buy him time and maybe make her think of something else to ask him. Van tilted his head back as he inhaled. He grasp at the stick with his index finger and thumb, pulled it away and started to blow out smoke rings. He glanced to his side, seeing her waiting patiently for his answer. He blew the rest of the smoke out of his lungs and lowered his head down. He cleared his throat and stared out over the lake.

" My dad was in an accident a few years ago. That's why he's in the chair." He said. Next question, what about your mom. It was either that or she would express pity for him that he had to take care of his dad and Van didn't want either of those to happen.

" That's rough." Avalon said. Van popped the smoke back into his mouth as he nodded. Here is comes. " So what's fun around here?" Van looked back at her in surprise. No follow up about his mom? Van suddenly remembered when he asked her about hers and she hadn't wanted to answer. Maybe she understood that he wouldn't want to talk about his.

" Um..." He said after taking a drag from his smoke. " not a lot. I mean, parties will start up soon and shit."

" Parties." Avalon repeated. " Yeah but that's for you locals, right? I mean, I don't know anyone here so I won't know about the parties or be invited to them."

" You know me." Van corrected. " We could go to some, if you want."

The two walked around the lake, stopping at a few places to sit and talk more, for almost two hours. Van found him more and more at ease with this new girl. He like her calm smile, her laugh and the way she seemed into whatever he was talking about. He told her about the town and a few legends of the lake, including the old tale about the boy who died from a massive bite in his leg that he got while swimming. She told him about a few of the places she had lived in and answered his questions about the 'outside' world, without looking at him like he was stupid.

" So listen, tomorrow night there is this concert going on. It's free to get into. It's real heavy music and the band kind of sucks but if you want to go with me, I can come and get you around eight." Van offered when they got back to her house. Avalon leaned her back against the door and smiled with a nod.

" Yeah, I'd like that." She said.

" Okay, cool. It will be hot inside the bar so you might want to wear shorts or something." He said. She nodded again.

" Okay." Van started to bite into his left thumb nail, his mind racing to come up with something else to say to her, anything else because he wasn't ready to leave her yet. And...he wanted to kiss her.

" We can walk since it's not to far from here. I mean, we could drive, I could take my dad's car but the walk will be nice, you know?" He asked, dropping his hand down.

" Yeah, that will be nice." Avalon said.

" So you want too? Go? Or walk? Or both? Like I said, we can drive but the weather will be cool and shit and..." He was rambling, he knew but he couldn't seem to stop himself. And he would have kept going if she hadn't giggled and reached out for him. She took a hold of his shirt, pulled him into her and stepped up to gently press her lips against his.

" I want to go and I wouldn't mind walking." She whispered a few seconds later.

" You sure?" Van whispered, keeping his eyes shut. She kissed against his bottom lip before she slipped away him. Van opened his eyes to see her smiling still.

" Pick me up at eight. Goodnight." Avalon said.

" Goodnight." Van answered.

Van was on cloud nine when he got back home. Nothing could spoil his mood and nothing did. Not even when he had to set up the paints for his dad. It stayed high when he painted the soldiers Chad asked him too and passed him the paints the other man needed. He kept his smile when he got ready for bed and even when he had to lay with his dad for a while.

And he stayed excited when he peered through his telescope at the new girl across the lake.

' Nothing creepy.' He told himself. ' If she starts to undress, I'll look away.'

NRNRNR

The next day moved slow for Van. He tried to busy himself with cleaning up the house and washing clothes but every hour, he was looking at the clock. He washed the car. He painted with Chad, he went down to the docks and through out a few lines. He fished, he swam, then finally it was six in the evening. He made dinner then jumped in the shower. He was out of his house by seven thirty.

This time, Van had chosen to wear a white wife beater tank top, a pair of dark blue, baggy cargo pants and a blue, long sleeve shirt that he had tied around his waist, in case she got cold. He jogged almost the whole way to her house, feeling excited to see her. He had watched her house a few times during the day but hadn't been much movement. He wanted to see her, couldn't wait to see her, and now it was finally time.

" Hey you." Avalon said as she slipped from the house. She looked great and Van was smiling. She had taken his advice and was wearing her grey converse shoes with no socks, a pair of short jean shorts and a long sleeve, green shirt. She had taken her hair and twisted it into two buns against the back of her head with strands hanging down. A few were in front of her ears and her forehead. He couldn't help but notice her shoes, they matched him and that amused him.

" You ready?" Van asked.

" Yeah, let's go." Avalon slipped her arm around his and they started walking, ready to begin their night.

NRNRNR

Van's head bobbed as the hard music washed over them. He was half watching the band and half watching her. The bar was hot inside and smelled like sweat, pot and sex but Avalon didn't seem to mind, unlike Julie. She hated the music here, hated the bar and also refused to come with him when he wanted to see a show. Avalon swayed with the music and clapped when the crowd clapped. He couldn't tell if she liked the music or not, she smiled up at him a few times, letting him know she was at least enjoying her time with him.

" You wanna go outside?" Van yelled down to her after a few songs. She smiled and nodded. " Come on!"

He took her hand without trying to think about what he was doing, and started leading them towards the door. She touched his hand with her free on and pulled herself into their arms so she was against him. Van looked back at her then straight ahead of him again. A small smile played over his lips. She had had her eyes close so that meant she was completely trusting Van to lead her to safety and that had his chest swell up with pride.

" So do you like it or is it not your kind of music?" Van asked the second the quiet night air washed over them.

" I liked it." Avalon said. " I like heavy music."

She came up to his side but didn't let go of his hand. Van continued walking, taking them from the front of the bar to the crowded parking lot. Usually, in that crowd, Van would have jumped in the middle and started thrashing around with the group in the moss pit but he hadn't want to leave Avalon, which was a surprised. If Julie had been there, he wouldn't have thought twice about her. He would have took off, slamming his body into others.

" So do you smoke pot at all?" Van asked carefully. She hadn't smoked or asked for a hit of his cigarettes so he wasn't sure how she felt about smoking weed and didn't want to piss her off. But if she smoked pot, he had brought a joint that he wouldn't mind sharing with her.

" I do, when it's around. I won't buy it but I don't mind smoking it. Why? Do you have some?" She asked. Van nodded and reached into his pocket as they reached the first row of cars. He let go of her hand to fish out his lighter as his other hand produced the joint.

" Do you want to smoke now?" He asked.

" Yeah, I won't mind." Julie never smoked and used to get mad at Van for it. Julie acted like Van was a drug addict and that had always pissed him off. It's not like he was high all the time.

Van leaned against one of the cars while she stood in front of him, waiting for him to light up. He met her eyes briefly before he dropped them to his work. With the joint between his lips, he lowered his head down to set the joint aflame. He inhaled quickly, pulling the slight burn down his throat and into his lungs. He looked at her again as he took the joint out and passed it over to her.

Her pretty lips drew his eyes at once. The joint slipped between the pale pink softness making one of Van's eyes twitch. He remembered quickly how those lips felt against his and he wanted to feel them again, longer this time. The first time had only lasted a few seconds but had stayed with him as one of the best first kisses he had ever had. As she took her inhale, Van started to struggle with himself. Should he wait for her to make another more or should he just do it? She had already kissed him once so would she mind if they did it again?

Avalon didn't give him a change to make up his mind. She took the joint out, handed it over to him then stepped into his space. She placed her hands on his shoulder and before he knew it, they were kissing again. There was the soft brushing of their lips at first before she opened for him and he took control. They tilted their heads and his tongue made the move into her mouth.

Slowly and deeply they began to make out. Van held the joint in his right hand while his left hand went to her waist. He guided her into his body more until she was spreading her legs so he could stand between them, and pressing into him. Her hands moved from his shoulders to his neck while their noses brushed against each other. She sighed and gave a little moan as their tongues rubbed against each other, curling and uncurling. They both pulled back, kissed lightly then open again for one another. He slide along the side of her, just inside her mouth. She twisted herself around him, feeling his heart slamming against her chest. Van leaned back against the car behind him, pulling her with him.

" Van!" They both heard and chose to ignore. Van tossed the joint to the side so he could take a hold of her hip and pull her even closer. He felt his breath increase as blood rushed through his body. Her taste floored him. He tossed the joint to the side and let his hand travel to her neck. He tilted her head to give himself deeper access to her mouth. " Van!" He groaned when she pulled away. His eyes sprung open and he looked to his left to see who was interrupting him in one of the hottest make out sessions he had had in a long time.

" Holy shit." Van said, seeing his old friends Jason and Flip. He looked back at Avalon with a grin. "Come and meet my friends." She stepped back to let him stand up straight. As he started towards the two guys, he reached behind him and was thankful when she latched onto his outstretched hand. She squeezed him as she followed behind him, holding the bend of his arm with her other hand. She seem to like to touch him and Van liked that. " When did you two get back?"

" Just now. Who do you got there?" Jason asked, looking behind his friend. Van looked back at Avalon and pulled his arm forward to bring her to his side.

" This is Avalon. These are two of my friends, Jason and Flip." He said.

" Hi." Avalon said.

" Hey. How's a guy like this hook a girl like you?" Jason asked in his easy way. He never had a hard time talking to girls. Avalon smiled and started to rub her cheek against Van's shoulder.

" Let's get out of here." Flip said, looking pass his friend to the cop car that pulled into the parking lot.

" We walked." Van said.

" That's cool. You can take my bike, I'll ride with Jason. You remember how to handle it?" Flip asked.

" Yeah, of course." Van looked over at Avalon, unsure of how she would feel about being on a bike. "You okay with that?" He asked.

" Yeah. I have never been on a bike so this will be fun." She said with a smile. Van let go of her hand and untied the shirt he had brought.

" You should put this on. The wind will make you cold." He said, handing it over as his friends busied themselves with Jason's bike.

" Thanks." She said. Van watched and tried not to smile as she slipped her arms into the sleeves then thrust her head into the shirt. While she settled it against her body, he couldn't help but think how good she looked in his clothes.

" You ready?" He asked.

" Yep." She said.

" Take the lead, Van." Jason called out.

Van climbed onto the bike and kicked out of the kick stand, making sure he balanced the bike between his legs. Avalon climbed on behind him, moved into his back and wrapped her arms around his waist. Van started up the bike and grinned as her laughter reached him over the roar. Seconds later, they were pulling out of the parking lot and she was squeezing him even tighter. He sped down the road with Avalon tucked up tight into his back and a grin of his face.

To his surprise, Van drove them to his old house. He hadn't really been thinking too hard about where he would go and hadn't thought he wanted her to know about the house but there he was, pulling up the long driveway of the empty house. He slowed the bike down until he was walking it straight up to the door. Avalon was still curled up into his back with her head turned and her cheek resting against him. She stayed that way until he completely stopped the bike. She pulled away to let him sit up then turn the bike off. As his friends pulled up beside them, Van glanced back at her.

" Was that okay? Are you okay?" Van asked.

" Yeah. That was so much fun!" She explained with a grin. Van chuckled as he dismounted the bike. He took her hand and helped her slip off the bike. " Where are we?" Van looked up at the dark house.

" This used to be my house." He answered before he started towards the door.


	4. Chapter 4

_* Please Review! So for the first time ever, I was told that my stories are bland and that all my stories have no actual plot, just sexual plots. Funny but untrue. My stories have sex, yes but they have plots too. I put a lot of time and thought into my stories. I'm sorry if this story seems bland, there is a plot and action to come but I think Van and Avalon need to get to know each other. If I just jumped right into the action, you won't connect with Avalon and it wouldn't make sense for Van to care about her. And Also, I was asked how to say her name, it's Av-A-Lawn.*_

" So where's your mom? You heard from her yet?" Jason asked as he and Flip roamed through the dining room and kitchen of Van's old house. Van sighed and suddenly felt like he had made a big mistake. He wasn't sure he was ready to talk about his mother with Avalon. He looked over at her as she looked out the window and over the dark lake.

" I don't know." He said. Avalon turned and tilted her head as she looked at him. " I haven't heard from her in years." He said, meeting her eyes. Avalon nodded, understanding went over her face.

Van, Flip, and Jason started talking together but most of Van's attention was still on the girl with him. She had started to lean against the window, putting her back against it, to watch the three interact. Van's eyes would dart from his friends to her. There was no judgment in her eyes as his friends talked about their life on the road, selling pot, sleeping in tents and robbing houses. Her entire attention and focus seem to be on him.

After almost an hour, the group decided to leave. Flip and Jason mounted their bikes, promising to see their friend the next day and waving to Avalon. Van and Avalon hang back, waiting until the boys pulled out before they started walking. Van was unsure of what to say. She didn't seem to mind Flip and Jason but he was still unsure. What if she had been thinking about everything and now that they were alone, she decided she didn't like Van or want to be around him?

" Your friends are hyper." She said, taking his hand in hers. Van looked down as her small fingers linked with his. He smiled in the darkness.

" Yeah." He said, looking back at the road while they walked. " They're alright guys though." Silence. She moved closer to him until she was almost leaning against him. Van slowed their steps down. They were close to her house and he wasn't ready to end the night.

" My mom left my dad and I too." Avalon said. Van looked down at her but she let her head come to rest against his arm.

" When?" He asked, looking back at the road.

" When I was real little. I barely remember her, it was so long ago. I think I was four or so." Avalon answered. Van nodded even though she couldn't see him. He started to gently rub his fingers against hers.

" Do you know why?" He asked.

" Not really. For as long as I can remember, my dad always said she just couldn't handle things and she just left. The day after we finished moving here, him and I got into a huge fight though and he yelled that she left because of me. He said that I was a whiny toddler who cried all the time and she hated me."

Her voice was so quiet that Van could hear the slaps of the waves against the lake bank and the insects that only came out in the night. Cicadas cried out from all around them and a few bats flew overheard. The sun had set but the night was still hot and sticky. Van frowned in the darkness. It was hard enough for him to handle that his mom left him as a young teen, he couldn't imagine being a young child and having her leave, let alone being told it was because she hated him.

" Wow, I'm sorry, Avalon." He hated it when people said that to him and yet he found himself saying it to her.

" That was the day you and I met." And it all make sense now. She had been upset, so upset that she wanted to end it all. " Isn't it funny how the parent who left becomes the one you idolize?" Avalon lifted her head up from his arm and started to lightly swing their arms. " I mean, when I was young, I went so far as to pretend that my mom was taken away from me, instead of leaving." Again, Van looked at her.

" What do you mean?" He asked. Avalon shrugged and raised up her head so she was looking straight ahead of them.

" Well, I pretended that I saw a man come into our house in a mask and grab my mom, like snapping her neck. I pretended that she was killed because I couldn't accept that she'd just leave me, I guess. Well, that's why my dad said I did it. I pretended it so much that I created a memory with it. Someone came in, killed her and dragged her out. A few hours later, my dad came in and took me away from the house." She said.

" How do you know that didn't happen?" Van asked.

" Because as the years went on, I added more and more to it so that the pretending became real to me. At first I decided she had just been kidnapped and my dad couldn't find her, then I thought, well she must have been killed and that's why she never came back. Then one day, I invented the mask man." Avalon explained. " My dad said I always had a huge imagination. I guess he took me to a doctor for the 'memories' and the doctor said that it was my way to cope with my mom leaving, you know? The doctor said that my little mind couldn't handle the fact that she had left us so it came up with a reason why."

" That actually makes sense. I mean, when you're a kid, how are you supposed to deal with grown up shit?" Van said. They fell silent as they walked, each thinking about their missing parent. She was right, he did idolize his mother to a certain degree and blame his dad for her leaving. And inside, Van knew that was stupid. His brain knew it was wrong but his heart needed to blame someone. It wasn't long before Avalon replaced her head on Van's arm. " My mom, dad, and I lived in that house since I was born. We had the perfect life, I thought. White picket fence and everything, then my dad got into an accident and lost his legs. My mom couldn't take it so she took off." Van said.

" When?" Avalon asked.

" A few years ago, when I was sixteen. She took off and took most of my dad's money with her. My dad couldn't stay in the house, not with all the stairs, and memories. So we packed up what she didn't take and moved into a small, one level house across the lake."

Avalon stopped walking and looked at him. For a few seconds they just stared. They were so much alike, had the same feelings about their parents it seemed. He was upset with his dad, Avalon could hear it in his voice. He missed his mom. He felt alone and she understand that. Avalon left go of Van hand. She took a hold of him by his shoulders and pulled him into her. His arms went around her waist as they hugged each other tightly. She stepped up on her toes and closed her eyes. Van turned his face into her hair and breathed in her scent. They took comfort in each other. They enjoyed being close together. They took in the warmth the other offered. Her arms tighten on his shoulders, making him squeeze her by her waist. They were pressing into each other, touching from their chest to their shoes. Avalon sighed loudly and pulled away just enough to give him a small kiss.

" I like you." She whispered.

" I like you too." Van admitted. She gave a small laugh before pulling back to take his hand again. They started walking back to her house and didn't talk again until they were at her door.

" I want to see you tomorrow." Avalon said, making Van nod and smile. " Come over for breakfast."

" Are you sure your dad will be okay with that?" He asked.

" I do the cooking and he won't mind." Avalon said. " Now kiss me again before you leave." And that was a request Van was quick to fill.

NRNRNR

In the morning, Van was walking down her driveway when a movement on the balcony caught his attention. He looked up with his steps slowing down at the sight of her dad. He had noticed Van at the same time. His eyes narrowed down as he put a lighter to the cigarette he had in his mouth. Van nervously put his hands in his pockets.

" Hello again." Gideon called down.

" Hello, Sir." He said, coming to a stop so they could talk.

" Did you mind your manners on your date last night?" He asked.

" Yes, sir." Gideon drew on his cigarette hard, causing the cherry to glow bright red. He nodded as he exhaled, holding Van's gaze with his own.

" I noticed you had her home at a decent hour and I didn't notice any marks on her neck. Her clothes were in place and her hair was still as it was when she left." The father said. Van nodded, unsure of what he should say. Did her dad really think Van would jump on her the second they were alone? Thankfully, the door to the house open and Avalon smiled out at him.

" Hey you, come on in." Van looked at her with a smile, almost forgetting about her dad, almost. His eyes shot up at the other man quickly when Gideon cleared his throat. Avalon frowned and stepped out. She walked out from under the balcony and looked up at her dad.

" What are you doing?" She asked with her hands on her hips.

" Just talking to, Van, is it?" Gideon asked.

" Yes, sir." Van answered.

" Daddy, stop it." Avalon snapped. She took a hold of Van's wrist and started pulling towards the house. " He's only had one cup of coffee, he's still cranky." She said. Van smiled and let her pull him into the house, making sure he closed the door behind them.

" After we eat, you want to go out on the lake?" He asked.

" Yeah, that will be fun." She said. " We can take out the little row boat we have."

" Okay." Van said. They started to climb the stairs with her still leading him by his wrist.

" I hope you like pancakes. I make them with cinnamon and vanilla in the batter." She said.

" Yeah, pancakes are cool."

Through breakfast, Van and Avalon sat side by side and across from her dad. She had made coffee, pancakes and bacon. Avalon made small talk with Van and Gideon. Van smiled and answered when he needed too, feeling uncomfortable with the looks her dad kept throwing at him. The man wasn't outworldly rude but the look in his brown eyes told Van that he wasn't happy the younger man was there with his daughter.

After breakfast, Gideon went upstairs to work in his study while Van helped Avalon clean up the plates. They rinsed them off then placed them in the dishwasher together. Avalon took Van to the living room, set him up with the TV than ran up the stairs to change her clothes. She wanted to put her swimming suit on under her tank top and shorts. She was back down with him less than fifteen minutes later. Ten minutes after that, Van was rowing the little row boat out onto the lake.

" Where is your favorite place that you have lived?" Van asked as he rowed hard. It was late morning but already it was getting hot and he was starting to sweat. He could feel the back of his shirt starting to stick to his skin.

" Ah...well, I really loved Georgia." Avalon said. She looked at his arms, watched how his muscles worked and smiled. She really liked living here so far. She really liked how the sweat was starting to gleam off his tan, nicely shaped arms.

" Yeah? Was it hot? I heard it gets real hot there." Van said.

Both and forth they talked until Van had them in the middle of the lake. She took her tank top off and Van couldn't believe his luck. She was toned and tan, like she took care of her body and laid out. Her stomach was flat and made his mouth water. Van had to force his eyes away from her stomach and breasts and over to the dock located in the center of the lake. He grabbed the oars and started rowing them towards it. He was going to tie up the boat to the dock and either swim or just sit and talk with her. And maybe score a few more kisses.

" So what do you want to do?" Avalon asked. All sort of dirty things flew through his head at once. The last time he had had sex was over Christmas break and yeah, he was a guy, sitting with a hot girl. Van cleared his throat and smiled.

" You wanna go swimming?" He asked.

But swimming with Avalon wasn't like swimming with other girls. The second they tied the boat to the dock and got into the water, she latched onto his back with her arms around his neck. Van tilted his head to the side to look over his shoulder at her with a smile. Not that he minded that she was all over him, he just hadn't been expecting it. Of course, he hadn't expected her to kiss him as much as she did, hold him hand like she did or hug him.

" Can you swim?" He asked, looking forward again.

" Yeah. I love swimming. I just wanted to touch you." Avalon said. Van laughed and continued swimming them through the lake. She loved swimming and just wanted to hold onto him and he wanted it too. He really liked that she wanted to touch him. After a few minutes, Van turned and took a hold of her hips. He pulled her towards him, grinning when she wrapped her legs around his waist. " Hi." She said with her own smile. His legs slowly kicked through the water, making sure to keep them afloat.

" Hi." They moved into each other at the same time.

And just like before, their kissing was slow and deep. Just lips pressed against lips. One of her hands went into his hair while her fingers spread out and through the strands. He moved his head to the side ever so slightly as both their lips parted. Just the tip of their tongues touched, testing, teasing and tasting. She squeezed him with her legs, pulled him close in with her arms then completely opened for him and Van took the advantage at once. He moved into her mouth, kissing her as fully as he could. It felt good to kiss her. It felt good to have her body pressed into his, her soft breasts against his chest. She made him feel wanted and that was something Van realized he hadn't felt in a while, not even when he and Julie had been good.

" Spend the day with me." Avalon whispered. They opened their eyes but kept their faces close together.

" Yeah, okay." Van whispered. " Can we keep kissing?" Avalon laughed but give him what he asked for.

They stayed floating around together for a little while longer, talking, laughing and kissing, before Van swam them over to the dock. Now they were laying on the dock, on the towels Avalon had brought for them, holding hands. Their heads were touching and they were talking quietly, again. He loved talking to her. Van felt completely relaxed for one of the first time in a long time. She laughed at the stories he told and that made him smile. He liked hearing her describe more of the places she had lived.

" Van!" He lifted his head up then rolled to his side while Avalon looked towards the shore where the shouting was coming from.

" Are those the guys from last night?" She asked.

" Yeah. Jason and Flip." Van sat up and gave them a wave.

" What the fuck are you doing?" Jason yelled out.

" What are you doing?" Van yelled back.

" Looking for something to do. Get over here!" Jason yelled with a smile. Van looked down at Avalon who was looking up at him.

" Do you mind hanging out with them?" He asked. She shook her head and smiled.

" No. Let's go see what they have planned." She said, pushing herself up.

Van and Avalon held hands as they walked around the lake and woods and talked with Jason and Flip. More stories went around. The boys teased each other and tried to throw one another under the bus a few times, making her laugh. They pushed each other and play fought. She watched with a smile, commenting when they pulled her into the conversation. The afternoon passed by quickly and before they knew it, evening was setting in.

" Do you want to go home and change or something? The bugs will start biting soon." Van said quietly to Avalon.

" I'm good." She said.

" You sure?" Van asked.

" Yeah." She said with a squeeze on his hand.

The group roamed around the lake bank and through the woods again. They had a few drinks and smoked a few joints together. It was almost midnight by the time Van decided he should get Avalon home. Flip and Jason followed the couple while they walked, keeping a respectable distance from them. They still pushed at each other and laughed while Van and Avalon talked.

" I have shit I have to do with my dad tomorrow night but we could hang out in the afternoon or something." Van offered.

" I'd like that." She said as they reached her door.

" Is your dad gonna be pissed that it's so late?" Van asked. Avalon smiled and shook her head.

" Don't worry about him. I'll see you tomorrow." She took a hold of his shoulders and kissed him gently at first. Then Van's hands touched her hips and his fingers dug into her skin as he drew her in closer. Again her lips parted and he moved into her mouth.

" Ahhh! Van's making out" They heard Flip tease.

" How cute!" Jason called out. Avalon smiled against his lips then started to laugh. Van stuck his arm behind him and flipped his friends off, making them laugh.

" I have to go and get this assholes out of here." He said before he kissed her lightly again.

" I'll see you tomorrow." Avalon said.

_* How sad is it that Norman has a girlfriend now...*_


	5. Chapter 5

_* Please Review! __**Guest: **__You could have left your comment under your sign in name. I wont have said anything to you. You have the right to your opinion of me and my stories and what I say just as I have the right to defend my stories. If you said it under your sign in, I would respect you for it because that means you stand by what you believe. I said what I said because, yeah, I was a little concerned that people might be bored with the story at first since the few few chapters have had no action.*_

" Who is this boy?" Gideon asked as he filled Avalon's doorway the next day.

" Just a boy, Daddy."

Avalon gathered up her hair up and over her shoulder as she looked at herself in the mirror. She had already been outside and knew it promised to be another hot day. She turned to the side and checked over the dark jean shorts she was wear and the white tee shirt. It was slightly oversized and hung off one of her shoulders and under it, she was wearing her swim suit. Van loved swimming and so she knew sometime during that day they would be in the water. She didn't mind though. That meant Van would be shirtless and he looked amazing shirtless. His upper body was muscular, thanks to the swimming and the push ups Avalon had spied him doing once when she had been walking alone. His stomach was flat, his arms toned, and his chest...well she won't mind if he went shirtless all the time.

" Just a boy?" Gideon asked. " You were out until midnight last night with just a boy?" Avalon smiled as her fingers worked quickly through her hair to braid it.

" Yeah." She said.

" Well that just a boy is now sitting at my kitchen table at eleven in the morning." Gideon almost snapped. Avalon tried hard to not roll her eyes as she spun around to face her dad. He never liked any of her boyfriends or guys she had liked. Granted, Avalon hadn't always had the best taste in guys and they both knew it. Avalon, like most girls, usually liked the bad boys and Gideon, like most dads, hated it.

" Dad, he's a boy that I like, okay? He's a good guy, actually. He keeps his hands to himself, in fact, we have only held hands because I started it. Please don't be a dick here. I like him. He's the only person I know and he's showing me around and going to help me meet people." She said, fastening a black hair band to her hair to hold the braid in place.

" You have never had a hard time meeting people. As much as I have tried to teach you to be cautious and careful around strangers, you have always been open and managed to draw people in. But being in a town like this isn't like the other places we have lived. People here don't accept outsiders well, even if you have a local as a friend. You would be better off just keeping to yourself." Gideon said. Avalon smiled, dropped her hands and started towards her dad.

" You worry too much." She said.

" And you don't worry enough." Gideon said. His daughter sighed and stopped short just in front of him. She placed her hands on his shoulders as she stared into his eyes with the most beautiful eyes he had still ever seen. The second she had looked at him with those eyes for the first time, Gideon had just fall in love and knew he would do anything to protect her and that feeling hadn't faded. " Avalon."

" Gideon." She said. A smile tugged at her lips as she used his first name. It was a game between them. When she was little, he used to tell her she would wear out the word Daddy and make her call him Gideon, or Mr. Weathervane. She had always laughed, thinking it was funny to call him by his first name or Mr. Now, when she thought he was being too serious, she would call him by his name. It had always made him smile, but not now.

" I worry." He said. " You are all I have." Avalon's face soften at his words, just like he knew it would. He knew what to say to make her stay.

" Then maybe you should go out and meet people." Avalon said quieltly. Her response was not what he was expecting and he felt his anger start to stir. " I am twenty years old now. You need to understand that some day, I'm going to move out on my own. I'm going to meet a boy, fall in love and start my own life."

" Is that so? And you think that is the boy? You think that laker is the boy you will fall in love with, move out with and start a life with?" Gideon almost spit out.

" I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. Maybe through him, I will meet someone else. I don't know. All I can say for now is I like him and I want to spend time with him." She said. She sighed again as she stared into his eyes. " You need to start your life too. I'm older now so you don't need to watch over me as much as you have in past. You should have try and make friends here, go on a date."

" A date? You think I should go on a date?" Gideon asked with one of his eyebrows raised.

" Yeah. You're still a good looking man and when you want to be, you're really funny. You're smart and well travelled. Women would love you." Avalon said. Gideon rolled his eyes and frowned. She smiled again and stepped up to kiss her dad's scruffy cheek. " You need to shave, Daddy. I'm going out and I'll be back tonight."

She patted his cheek before pulling away and slipping between him and her doorway. Gideon's frown only deepen as he listened to his daughter hurry down the hallway then the stairs, calling out for the young guy. The father walked into the daughter's room and over to her wide windows and the french doors. He placed his hands on his hips and waited. A few seconds went by before he heard the door to the outside shut then saw the couple walking away. Avalon was holding Van's hand and almost bouncing with her excitement. Gideon could tell Van was grinning as he looked at her. The kid liked her, a lot. Gideon could see it on his face when they had breakfast together.

That didn't surprise him. Avalon had that effect on people. As much as he tried to make her a shut in like himself, Avalon had always had a way with people. She always drew them in with her laugh and her smile. As a young child, Gideon tried to shield her from the world, tried to protect her from anyone who might want to take her away from him but she had always reached out and pulled people into their space. No matter how much Gideon had tried to tell her the world was cruel, Avalon had wanted to experience and learn everything she could. He had made sure to take her to places like the museums he worked for and historical places. He taught her about art and classical music. Things that most people her age usually knew nothing about, in hopes that it would deter people from getting to know her. He had hoped it would set her apart of the crowd, maybe force her to be alone because what young kids would want to hang out with another kid who only talked about art and classical music? But no matter where they moved it, his plan had always backfired.

NRNRNR

" You're quiet today." Avalon said to Van as she swung their arms back and forth.

" Hmmm?" Van asked, looking at her briefly before returning his eyes to the road they were walking on. Heat shifted through the air again, bring a thin line of sweat to the skin on his bare arms. Maybe he shouldn't have chosen a black tank top for the day...or the camo cargo. Maybe he should have went with shorts. " Oh yeah, sorry. I'm just thinking."

" About?" She asked.

Everything. Van thought. He liked Avalon but he had seen Julie just that morning when he had ran into town and old feelings had almost stirred. Almost. She had been his first real girlfriend, not his first kiss or even the girl he lost his virginity to but his first real girlfriend and shouldn't it be hard to accept that they were over? Shouldn't he have felt something, anything, when he saw her for the first time after they broke up? He thought he should but he hadn't and he couldn't understand why. He thought it would hurt to see her face and hear her voice but it hadn't. He had been excited to see her when he knew she was coming home but now there was nothing.

As Van and Avalon walked, he was starting to wonder if he had ever really had feelings for her or had he been excited because she was what he was used too. Van sighed and looked at Avalon as she waited for his answer. She was the completely opposite of Julie. Her hair was colored with chucks of blond and dark brown color streaked through it, Julie's hair was just brown. Avalon had piercings, in her lip and her belly button, Julie thought girls with piercings were whores. Avalon was nice, Julie had never been very nice to anyone outside of her circle of friends. Avalon didn't make Van feel bad because he had stayed at the lake instead of going off to college, Julie resented him for it. Avalon had experiences he hadn't and, unlike Julie, she didn't rub it in his face. Van stopped walking, making her stop, and took a deep breath.

" So my dad is apart of this thing some locals do once a month. They go to different people's houses and they watch old films that were taken of the area and pieced together. Pretty much they just talk about old times and shit, and tonight it's happening at my place." Van stopped short. Was he really going to do this? Was he really going to ask her to come? To officially meet his dad? To see the shit hole he lived in? Yeah, yeah he was. " Do you...I mean, would you want to come? It's going to be pretty boring so if you don't want too, I get it. I don't really want to do it too but..." He was rambling again but couldn't stop himself. Why did he ramble around her so much? Avalon smiled, silencing him slowly.

" I'd like that." She said.

" You would?" Van asked. He had to admit, he was a little surprised. Julie never wanted to see his dad or come over...then again, Avalon didn't really know what she was getting herself into and maybe after tonight, she wouldn't want to either. " You don't have too." Van said as he started walking again. No, there was no way she'd want to see him after meeting his dad and seeing his house.

" I want too. I'd love to come." She said. Van looked at her again while they walked.

" Yeah?" He asked.

" Yeah." She grabbed at his hand with both of hers and quickly kissed his cheek.

NRNRNR

" Wait here, okay?" Van said to her as they hurried into his house later that evening. " I need to help my dad get dressed." He squeezed her hand before pulling away, leaving her in his kitchen. " Dad! I'm sorry I'm late! Let me get you dressed then I'll set everything up!" He rushed through his living room, surprised that Chad wasn't in his usually chair, watching TV. " Dad!' He turned the corner and stopped short when he saw his dad in bed with beer bottles and a half empty liquor bottle laying around the bed.

" Call it off!" His dad yelled.

" Fucking perfect." Van whispered. This was fucking perfect. Just what he needed. He brings Avalon home and this is what is waiting for him? Yeah, they were over before they even got started. " What are you doing! Come on! You know you can't drink all that! Look at you!" Van exploded without thinking. His anger and resentment suddenly bubbling to the surface.

" Leave me alone!" Chad yelled.

" No! You aren't doing this to me!" Van yelled.

" I'm not doing anything to you! Leave me alone!" Chad yelled.

" Van." Chad's eyes snapped to the girl in the doorway as Van spun around. Completely humiliation washed over him at once. Avalon blinked at him then took a quick stock of the room. " Right, tell me where your bathroom is. I will start a cold shower while you get him up and out of that bed."

" Avalon, " Van started quietly as he started towards her. He took a hold of her arms and gently guided her out of the room. " look, I'm sorry. My dad...he's not well and I think it would..."

" He's not sick. He's drunk and I know a thing or two about this. My dad can't handle his liquor. Beer, yes, but liquor no. Now you have people coming here, right? We need to get him in a cold shower and shove bread down his throat to soak all that shit up. I'll start the shower, you help him in there and I will set up those chairs you have on your porch." She interrupted quickly. Van swallowed hard. She wasn't running. She wasn't judging him. In fact, she wanted to help him.

" Are you sure about this?" He asked. She smiled, stepped up and kissed him lightly.

" Where is the bathroom?" She whispered.

Working quickly and quietly together, Van got his dad showered, cleaned up, and dressed while Avalon set up the chairs in his living room and started a pot of coffee. She set out the plates and cups they would need for the guests. Since Van and Chad were hosting, they didn't have to have the food. It was up to the guests to each bring something to share with the group.

As Van took his seat between his dad and Avalon, he had to admit. He was happy. What started off as bad had actually turned out to be great. Avalon had introduced herself and greeted everyone with a smile, while Van took the food and set everything out. They had worked together like the prefect team and no one had known that everything had almost fallen apart.

" So everyone in the room is somewhere in the video?" Avalon whispered to Van as she leaned into him.

" Yeah." Van whispered back.

" And you guys do this once a month at a different house every month?" She asked.

" Well, just May through October." He said.

" This is great. I love this." Avalon whispered.

He looked at her and smiled. She was completely caught up in the images on the screen. She was smiling and even laughed a few times when the others laugh. Van took her hand and interlaced their fingers together. He looked back at the screen as they moved into each other more, pressing their shoulders together. Yeah, this was great, that is, until his mother came on the screen.

Van's smile faded and the light laughter in the room went with it. Everyone was still. Everyone was quiet. Van's hand tensed in Avalon's. Images of his mother and father, in happier times filled the screen. Pictures of Van on top of his dad's shoulders caused an ache in Van's chest. He felt like he couldn't breath when his mom laughed while Chad spun his son around. His throat threaten to close as she smiled into the camera and said how much she loved her life and them. His eyes wanted to burn with tears. Chad threw a line into the lake then leaned down to help his young son while the mother filmed them. Van's smile was bright and big. Was the room getting hot or was it just him?

And now he had to leave. Van thrust himself up, pulling Avalon with him. She didn't say a word as he hurried pass his dad and out into the night air. He could escape the pictures but he couldn't escape the memories that were flooding his system at that moment. As he almost ran, tugging her behind him, Van silently prayed that the sound of his mother's laugh would leave him and leave him fast.

And then his prayers were answered. A set of new sounds reached them. Van looked up and realized he had brought them to Julie's house. And there was a party going on. Van slowed his steps until he stopped walking completely. He turned and looked back at Avalon who was staring at him with her big, beautiful eyes. She hadn't said a word about his freak out. She had just ran with him.

" Um...about that..." He started as his other hand rubbed at his bottom lip.

" It's okay. I get it." She said. " But at least you got to have some time with her, you know? At least you have that to look back on one day when you're ready."

" I don't want to look back, ever." Van snapped. Understanding leaked into her eyes as she nodded.

" I can't even begin to imagine what's worst between us. The fact that you have memories and film you can look at when you want to see your mother or the fact that I have nothing. I have two memories of my mother and I can't even remember what her voice sounds like. You have all those memories and times with yours. You tell me, which of those is worst. You have what you don't want, I don't have what I want." Avalon said.

Van moved in a flash. One hand went into her hair to tilt her head back and claim her lips with his. Her arms went around his chest to his back while his other arm enclosed around her waist. His tongue swept into her mouth and began to tangle with hers. Lust, desire, and need flared to life between them. They pressed into each other hard and kissed until they had to come up for air. Panting, Van rested his forehead against hers.

" This doesn't change anything between us?" He whispered.

" No." She whispered. " This just shows me how much alike we are. It helps me to know there is something else who is going through what I have been going through. It should show you that you aren't alone in this anymore." Van took a deep breath and lifted his head from hers so they could smile at each other.

" This house behind me, it's the house of a girl I went to school with. Some of my old friends are there. You want to meet them?" Van asked.

" Yeah, I'd love that." Avalon answered.


	6. Chapter 6

_* Please Review! *Dee: I didn't include your review because it had nothing really to do with my story, it was just to flame me. I'm sorry that you were a faithful reader and now you are mad so you won't be reading my stories anymore. I'm sorry to lose a reader but what I don't understand is why it's okay for you to say what you want about me and my stories but it's not okay for me to defend myself or my works. You have the right to be mad and say whatever you want but I also have the right to say whatever I want. Again, I'm sorry if you don't want to read my stories anymore. And no, I'm not saying this so my readers can defend me, I can defend myself. I included your first review so anyone wants to read it they can and see that I did not, in fact, twist your words.*_

With one of her hands locked down tight into Van's, he pulled them up the stairs to Julie's house. He stopped along the way to greet a few guys and introduce her. To his surprised, he introduced her as his girlfriend without thinking about it, and when she didn't protest, he kept doing it. Every time he said it, he felt better and better about it. It felt right to call her that and he liked it.

Van snatched them two beers, handing her one as he continued moving through the house. He was looking for Jason and Flip so there would be at least someone else there she knew but his friends were nowhere to be seen. As he walked into a back living room of Julie's house, he realized all to quickly his mistake. Julie and two of her friends were sitting on the couch and they immediately started to take stock of Avalon.

" Hey, Julie. Nice party." Van said because he had to say something. There was no way he could just walk out of the room without it looking stupid.

" Ah yeah. I would have told you about it but I knew you and your dad were doing the film thing tonight." She said.

" Who is this?" Britney, one of the girls on the couch, asked. Van looked at Avalon as she came up from behind him to his side.

" This is Avalon. She's new." Van said. He did not want Julie and her spiteful friends to talk to his new girlfriend. In school, they had been the mean girls and he wasn't sure how Avalon would handle them if they tried to bully her.

" Clearly." Britney muttered. " I'm Britney." She said louder.

" Is your lip pierced?" Julie asked. Avalon smiled and nodded.

" Yeah, it sure is." She said.

" So we were just looking for Jason and Flip. Do you know where they are?" Van asked.

" No but I bet Shane does. He's in the kitchen. Why don't you leave Avalon, is it, here with us while you go and talk to him." Julie said.

" No, that's okay. She can come with me." Van said.

" I'll be fine." Avalon spoke up. Van looked at her then back at Julie. He hadn't really had time to tell Avalon about the other girl. " It's cool. Just go then come back and get me."

" Alright." Van said. " Five minutes." He leaned in, kissed her cheek then quickly left the room.

" So, where do you come from? " Britney asked.

" Lots of different places. My dad and I moved around a lot." Avalon said. She knew this trick. She had been around judgmental girls like this a lot. They were looking at her hair, her piercing, and her clothes, making mental notes about how she didn't fit in with them. Notes they would bring up to Van to try and embarrass her.

" You can sit down. I'm Julie, by the way." Julie said, moving over on the couch to give her room.

" Thanks." Avalon said. She walked over to Julie and sank down slowly, her beer in her hand.

" Are you dating Van?" Britney asked. Avalon bit into her bottom lip from the inside. She knew this trick too. Britney wasn't the leader, she was just the mouth piece. The leader of this group of girls was Julie. Avalon could tell by how the other girl sat beside her and stared. It was Julie's house the party was at. The leader of this group of girls was hardly ever the one who spoke up the most but the one who had the parties.

" And why would I tell that to a bunch of girls I don't know?" Avalon asked. Julie frowned while the other two smiled.

" Well, you should know..." Britney looked behind her at the other girl who had yet to introduce herself, then back at Avalon with a grin. " that he used to stick his dick inside Julie. So if you are dating him, we have the right to know." Avalon felt her heart tighten as she frowned. She knew she was starting to frown.

" Excuse me?" She asked.

" We used to date." Julie said. " For almost two years. We haven't been broken up that long." Avalon nodded slowly at the information.

" I see." She said as Van walked into the room.

" So I didn't see them. I think we're just going to cut out." He said, coming towards Avalon. He held his hand down to her and she took it, but only so the girls didn't see that they upset her. If they knew they had gotten to her, they would pounce on her like hungry lions. She stared at him as he pulled her up. Van offered her a small smile and a squeeze of her hand.

" It was nice meeting you, Avalon." Britney said as Van lead the new girl away. Giggles reached them before the couple walked out of the room.

" Were they okay? Sometimes they can be bitches." Van said. He pulled her closer to him so he could talk to her over the music and to make sure no one bumped into her.

" They were fine." Avalon said. She looked around the darken house, taking the couples making out in the corners, the guys smoking pot and laughing. Again, just another party, another place she didn't belong. Another guy who wanted to use her. Avalon felt sick to her stomach. Was it wrong that she had been hoping this time, that this guy, would be different than the others?

" Are you okay?" Van asked once they stepped outside. " You're really quiet." Avalon took her hand from his and rounded around to face him.

" Were you going to tell me she was your ex?" She asked, making Van frowned.

" Who?" He asked.

" Julie." She answered. " That Britney said that you used to 'stick your dick inside her.' And that's a direct quote." Van sighed and shook his head.

" It was a long time ago." He said. Avalon crossed her arms over her chest and frowned.

" Really? Because I was told you haven't been broken up that long." She found herself snapping. She had no right to be mad but she knew this trick too and she had hoped Van was above pulling tricks. She waited but he didn't say anything and she knew she had her answer. " I see. I know what this is."

" What what is?" Van asked.

" This. This trick. I know it. I have been through this a thousand times." She said.

" Been through what?" Van asked in confusion.

" This. It's always the same thing. I move to town, some guy and his girl break up and then I get used as a way to make her jealous." She bit out. Bitterness laced through her voice and hurt pumped through her veins. Maybe her dad was right. Maybe it was better if she kept to herself.

" I'm not doing that." Van defended.

" Yes, you are. I'm new, I'm mysterious and that makes girls jealous but guess what? I'm not that mysterious. There is nothing mysterious about me. I live my life like an open book. Yeah, my hair looks different then those girls. Yeah, I have two piercings that they don't but I'm not mysterious and I'm not into these games."

The was coldness in her voice and she knew it but she was so hurt. She really liked Van. She felt connected to him through their experiences with their mothers and not to mention the fact that he seemed like he felt just as lost in the world as she did. They could talk to each other like she had never been able to talk to anyone before and she wanted him to be different than the other guys she had been around. She wanted him above all the bullshit. She wanted him to want her for her, not because she was the shiny new toy in town. She didn't want him to be using her to make the others jealous.

" I'm not playing a game." Van said. Avalon felt more hurt move through her and hoped it didn't show on her face as she shook her head. She would be strong. The first few times this had happen to her, she had cried in front of the guy but she was tougher than she used to be. No one saw her cry anymore.

" Go have fun with your friends. I'm going home." Avalon said while she started to walk backwards.

" Avalon..."

" Don't, Van. Just don't. This was fun and you're a really awesome guy, and I really like you but this isn't for me." She said. " This game is not one I want to be apart of anymore. Having fun sticking your dick inside her." Avalon said the phrase with a roll of her eyes. She spun on her heel and started jogging away, ignoring how Van called out to her. Tears started to burn in her eyes as her steps increased. It was all the same, everywhere she went. She was stupid to think she could have fit in. Stupid.

" Fucking shit!" Van yelled as Avalon disappeared into the night.

He turned and took off into the house. He ignored how his old friends called out and even reached for him. He ignored it when they asked where Avalon was. He ignored them all. This wasn't his crowd anymore. These were people that he didn't need anymore. He didn't understand them and they didn't understand him, not anymore. Van was pissed.

Why would the girls tell her that? Why did they have to ruin this for him? Wasn't it bad enough that they rubbed it in his face that they were living their life while he was stuck in his? Wasn't it bad enough that they all looked down on him because Van would never leave the lake town? Van picked up his pace until he was running through the house, reaching the back quickly. His body was humming with his anger. His heart was pushing the emotion through his blood. Luckly for him, he found the girls were right where he had left them. Giggling together on Julie's couches.

" Oh hey, Van. Where's your girlfriend?" Britney asked with a smile.

" Can talk to you a minute?" Van snapped at Julie as he made his way towards her, ignoring Britney.

" Not right now." Julie said, barely looking up at him.

" Yes, now!" Van yelled. He leaned down and took a hold of her arm, intending to pull her up. " In private!" Julie yanked her arm away from him, raising up on her own.

" Don't touch me!" She snapped.

" Oh I see how it is!" Van yelled. " I can ' put my dick inside you' and now I can't touch your shoulder!" Britney started to laugh harder. Julie actually frowned at her friend.

" Shut up, Britney." She said before looking back at Van. " It's not my fault your girlfriend couldn't handle the truth, Van."

" You know what, you're a real piece of work! A real fucking bitch! Stay away from me and stay away from Avalon!" Van yelled.

His anger reached it's boiling point. He pushed and shoved people out of his way as he ran back through the house. He swept his arm across a kitchen counter, sending empty and full beers to the floor. He grabbed one of the guys in his way, only to shove him back again. He yelled at them to shut the fuck up. He hit the night air and started to run. He was done with them. Done with their parties, done with their stories, just done.

Avalon walked into her house, closed the door then leaned her back against it with her eyes shut. She slipped down to the ground, pulling her knees up to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her legs and lowered her head down. Why did this always happen to her? Why couldn't she just have real friends, a real boyfriend? Why did always turn out like this?

" Avalon?" At the sound of her dad's voice, Avalon raised her head up. She forced a smile and started to wipe at her cheeks. " What happen, Baby?" Her dad's voice soften as he started down the stairs towards her. She shook her head and pushed herself up. She didn't want Gideon to know she was upset, didn't want to hear him say, I told you so. Time and time again, Gideon proved that he was right about strangers and time and time again, Avalon tried to prove him wrong. The world just couldn't be as bad as he made it out to be, right?

" Nothing." She said.

Gideon sighed but nodded. The look on his face told her that he knew. He understood. He had been through this with her before, had dried her tears when the other kids had hurt her. He had rubbed her back when she didn't understand why they just couldn't accept her like she accepted them. He had promised to make things better for her, had promised that in the next town, things would be better for her. They were emtpy words and they both knew it. They both had known that when they did make it to the next town, Avalon would reach out and Gideon would try and pull her back. He would always remind her of the hurt she had experienced in the past.

" Come on, Sweetheart. Let's have some hot chocolate." He said, reaching his hand out to her. Avalon nodded and started to take his hand when she stopped.

" Dad, did you cut yourself? Is that blood on your hand?" She asked with a frown. Gideon looked down at the reddness that dotted his skin then back at her with a smile, lowing his hand down.

" No. I was painting. The mood hit and off I went. Come on. I'll wash up then make us some hot chocolate with the little marshmallows, like you like." He said. Avalon smiled and stood up. Together the father and daughter started up the stairs together.

" What are you painting?" She asked.

Van burst into his house and went straight to his room. He went over to the window and glared out and across the lake. Her room was dark so he grabbed his telescope and used it to search her house. The main living section of the house was lit up but Van couldn't see her or her dad. He swore and pulled back. He grabbed at the back of his tank top and thrust it over his head. He went to his bed and collapsed down on it, on his back. He blinked at his ceiling with a frown.

Fucking Julie. He wasn't using Avalon to make Julie jealous. He could care less if Julie was jealous or not. He didn't want her. Not any more. He wanted Avalon for her, not to make anyone jealous. He liked her. They had a lot in common and that floored him. He never really made much in common with Julie and at the time, it had never really bothered him. He liked to swim, she only wanted to lay out. He liked to have fun and mess around. She wanted to look and act perfect. She wanted to shop and hated his music.

Avalon, on the other hand, loved to swim. She had no problem jumping on the back of the bike with him and speeding off into the night. She was down for whatever was fun. She had jumped onto their rope swing and let Van swing her out onto the lake without bitching or complaining. She watched the band he liked and hadn't seem annoyed. She would run through the woods with him, Jason and Flip and laugh at their stories. She understood his feelings when it came to his mother. Yeah, Avalon was the type of girl he wanted and need.

" Van!" He groaned and covered his face with his hands. Not tonight. He just didn't want to deal with his dad tonight. " Van!"

" I'm coming!" Van yelled.

He pushed himself up and began to get ready for bed. He slipped off his shoes, took off his pants and grabbed his shorts. As he moved through his room, he stepped into one leg and then the other. He yanked them up his legs then hurried to his dad's room. Tomorrow he would go to Avalon and convince her that he wasn't using her. He wasn't sure how but he would.

_* Now what happen to Avalon and the girls, is something I experienced myself when I was a new girl once. And it hurt and it sucked. So I'm getting a lot of questions about Gideon and yeah, lol, he is a call out to Gideon from Criminal Minds because he is my favorite character there. I love that you guys are getting that because most of you know that I will throw in characters from other shows or movies I like and with some readers, it has actually become a game between us. Although, the Gideon in this story only shares CM's Gideon's name*_


	7. Chapter 7

_* Please Review! *_

Van walked down her driveway the next morning with his head down and one hand in his pocket. In between his index finger and his thumb of his other hand was lite cigarette. It was his second one on the walk from his house to hers. He had smoked the first one fast and was almost done with his second by the time he raised his head up. Avalon was sitting on the balcony that was off what he knew to be her room. She had a stretch pad open and on her lap. Her hand was drawing fast while her head darted up to the lake then back at her pad. Van sighed and dropped his smoke down to the driveway. He smashed it out with one of his well worn converse shoes, blowing the last of the smoke from his body.

" Hey you." He called up to her. Her head shot up and turned in his direction. Van put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. " Hey." He said when she didn't say anything.

" Hey." She said without making a move to get up.

" So can we talk?" Van brought his right hand up and over his eyebrows to shield his eyes was the sun as it blazed down on him. She sighed and he thought she even rolled her eyes. She looked down at her pad and started drawing again.

" The door's unlocked. My bedroom is upstairs, first door on the right." She said.

" Okay, cool."

He closed the distance between the spot he had stopped at and her door, pulling it open as soon as he reached it. After he closed it and started up the stairs, he held his breath to see if he could hear her dad. That was the last person Van wanted to ran into. He was sure the father was going to be upset with him, if he knew Van had hurt his little girl. But the TV in the living room was off and there was no sounds coming from anywhere around the house. Van took the stairs to the upstairs part of her house two stairs at a time. Her door was closed but he didn't knock before he opened it. He knew she knew he was there.

Her room surprised him. It was well sized with a closet to the left side of the door and a dresser to the right. Beside the dresser was black painted vanity with a mirror and some books resting on the chair in front of it. Across from the dresser was a huge bed, a queen size if he had to guess. The bed was made and covered with a black comforter. He walked across the hard wood floors and over to the sliding glass door. The wall to the outside world was just a huge, floor to ceiling window. She had a blank curtain but it was pushed off to the side to let in the natural light.

Van stepped out onto the balcony, closed the door then took the three steps it was needed to reach her side. He sat down and looked at what she was drawing. On the pad on her lap was her drawing of the lake and the trees in front of her. She was using a plain pencil but had managed to capture the completely beauty of everything around them.

" That looks awesome." He said.

" Thanks. I always make a few drawings of whatever the view outside of my window is." She said quietly.

" Really? That's cool. Can I look at the others?" Van asked.

She was sitting indian style and used her leg to nudge over one of her pads towards him. Van picked it up then thread his legs through the bars of the balcony so they were free hanging. He opened the pad and started looking through it closely. Each picture was drawn in pencil and had the name of city wrote at the bottom each picture. New York City, Atlanta, Gatling, Los Angeles, Reno, on and on the pictures went. Van was impressed. She was an amazing artist but it was the last picture he came to that really struck him. It was the last picture that made his heart flutter. It was a picture of him, a close up one. He was standing on the dock with his hands on his hips and his face turned away from the pad. He looked like he was looking off to the side at something. She had completely captured his image and Van didn't know what to say for a few minutes.

" Wow, Av, these are great." He said.

" What did you call me?" Avalon asked. Her pencil stilled as they looked at each other. Van cleared his throat nervously.

" Av. I thought it could be a nickname I could use." Van said.

" No one has ever given me a nickname before." She said.

" Do you like it?" He asked. She nodded and smiled before looking back at her drawing.

" Yeah, I do." Avalon said with a small laugh. Van didn't say anything, just watched her for a few minutes. She was drawing slower now and he knew she was glancing up at him every so often. Van cleared his throat and gave himself a quick nod. He could do this. He could explain himself and Julie.

" Look, I should have told you Julie was my ex and that it was her house." Now Avalon's hand stopped completely but she didn't look at him. " I didn't take you there to make her jealous or show you off like some prize I had won. I took you there because...I guess I thought you'd like to meet other people besides me, Jason, and Flip. And I..."

" Do you like me?" Avalon cut him off with question and the look on her face when she finally looked at him.

" Yeah. Yeah, I do. Like a lot." Van admitted.

" Why?" She asked.

" Well, because you're cool as shit. We have a lot in common. You listen to me and you seem to get me. You don't make me feel bad for being where I'm at in life. We have a blast together and you're really, really pretty." Van pushed himself to admit. He felt shy around her sometimes, he felt...embarrassed to tell her those things but he wanted to be with her and felt like the only way was to be completely honest with her...embarrassingly so. But she must have liked what he said because she smiled.

" I like you a lot too." She admitted.

" Yeah? Why?" Van asked with his own smile.

" Well, because YOU"RE cool as shit. We do have a lot in common. YOU listen to ME and YOU seem to get me. You saved my life, you right about us having a blast together and you are really, really hot." Her smile spread when Van started to laugh. She laughed herself as she shut her pad and set it off to the other side of her. She looked back at him and continued to smile.

" Okay...so can we just pretend that shit didn't happen and just go back to dating?" He asked when he calmed down. Avalon leaned forward and Van took the advantage, closing his eyes and pressing his lips to hers.

And it was over from there and they both knew. The annoyance, the fight, it was all over. As her hands came to his neck and her lips parted for his tongue, they both knew they were together again. No casual dating, no being friends, this was full blown dating. Boyfriend and girlfriend and they both wanted it. As she pulled Van into her and laid back so he could crawl over her, the unspoken agreement went through him. He silently asked her to his girlfriend and she silently accepted the offer.

" Where's your dad?" Van whispered against her lips while he settled his body into hers.

" Out. He had to mail some shit and pick up other things. He should be gone for another couple of hours." Avalon whispered before another round of kissing started. Her arms went around his shoulders as their tongues danced. His hips thrust into hers, catching his erection against the center of her. Pleasure shot through him, heating his blood. " Let's get in my bed." Her whisper was different that time. It echoed the lust and fire he was feeling. It was husky and turned him on more. Van's eyes shot open in shock. Was she serious? Shit, he hoped so.

And his prayers and hopes were answered. They were on her bed moments later, pulling and tugging at one other's clothes. His sneakers were tossed on the floor, only to be covered by her shirt a few minutes later. Their mouths were fused together as they knelt on her bed. His hands roamed her neck and shoulders while hers worked at his belt.

" Are you sure he won't be coming home soon?" Van whispered in a pant.

" Don't worry." Avalon whispered.

Avalon's sheet and blanket were chilly against Van's naked legs and back. He settled between her legs again and against her soft body as they continued to make out. They slowed their fast and frenzy pace to a slow, almost lazy pace. His hands travelled through her hair while hers rubbed his shoulders, feeling his muscles as they rolled. The feel of him, his skin, his muscles, his soft hair, and the impressive, hard length between her legs made her moan into his mouth.

He should stop them and grab the condom he kept in his wallet. He should lay beside her and roll it down himself and he meant too...but then her hand traveled down between them and took a hold his penis. Her legs opened more and she started to stroke. Van broke their kissing and groaned loudly, pressing his forehead into hers while squeezing his eyes shut.

" Ah man..." he moaned. His breath fanned out over her face in a hot rush as a stab of pleasure shot through his body.

She pushed against his head to make him lift his and start kissing her again. He reached between them, needing and wanting to bring her the same bliss she was bring him. He used his knuckle to gently start making swirls against the top of her warmth. Van kissed a hot trail down her face to the pulse in her neck. It was beating frantically against his tongue as he sucked it deep in his mouth. Her eyes rolled back, her mouth dropped and her back arched. She whimpered and tilted her hips forward, trying to make him touch her more. She pushed into his hand as he gathered up her wetness and used it to glide in slow, deliciously agonizing cirlces around her little pearl.

" Van." She whispered. All at once, her hand pulled off him and he instantly mourned the lost of the pleasure. She grabbed at his hand and pulled it away from her as well.

" What are you doing?" Van whispered, desperate to feel her stroking him again. It was too good to stop now. It felt too good to not continue on and he prayed she wasn't changing her mind about being with him.

" I haven't been with anyone in a while and if you keep doing that, I'm gonna get off fast." Avalon whispered. " I want to have sex with you."

She pulled her legs up and tugged them into his sides. He pushed forward, hitting her opening and joining himself to her without thinking. She wanted to have sex with him and he rushed to give it to her. He groaned deep into her throat. Warm, wet pleasure surrounded him as her body took him in, fitting him like a glove. She whined out his name and pulled at the hair at the back of his head. This was not what he thought would happen as he walked to her house today but he couldn't think of anything he wanted to do more. As he pulled back then started thrusting his hips into hers, he had to wonder, did sex always feel like this and it had been so long since he had had it, that he forgot? Or did it feel this good because of her? He didn't really care, all he wanted was for them to keep going.

" Oh shit!" She whispered and threw her head back.

Van grabbed at one of her legs to push it over his hip. He, then, grabbed at her thigh and squeezed it tight. His other hand traveled under her pillow to take a hold of the top of her bed with they moved together. Each thrust was getting harder and deeper. He cursed, wanting to kiss her but unable to concerate threw the hazy. His stomach tighten then released. His shoulders tensed then relaxed.

They rocked together with their breath mingling. He opened his eyes only to slam them shut again. Seeing the bliss that was written all over her face was almost too much for him and he knew if he kept watching it, he would cum in seconds. And this had to last, needed to last, for as long as he could get it too. It felt too good to be over just yet.

" Fuck!" She burst out. " Fuck, I'm cumming already!"

She tighten down on him from the inside while on the outside, her upper body raised up and off the bed. Her arms went around his shoulders and she tugged on him hard, falling back onto her bed. Avalon cried out with her breath a hot burst against his ear and it was over for him. Deep inside him, he felt the orgasm rushing up. It wasn't going to last as long as he wanted it too but she was getting off and now so was he.

" Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!" He panted as he burst into her body. His stomach tighted as he thrust as hard as he could, wanting to prolong the orgasm. His muscles tensed, his hand closed in on the skin of her thigh until his knuckles went white and his mouth fell completely open. His eyebrows knit together and his body spasmed, twitching slightly abover her. No, sex never felt this good. What he felt before was nothing compared to what he was feeling right now.

And when it was done, her arms fell from him and out at her sides. Her body gave out and sank down into her bed. His hand loosen on her, allowing her leg to slip down from around his hip. He tried to hold himself off her but it was almost impossible. His weight came down on top of her while his head came to rest against her chest. They were both panting and struggling to breath.

" Shit." Van whispered when the realization that he had never gotten the condom sank in.

" What?" Avalon asked. He lifted his head up and looked down at her, pride swelling in his chest that sweat had wet her hairline. Julie never sweat during sex...of couse she had never called out to him like Avalon had and never reacted that way to an orgasm.

" I didn't wear a condom." He said quietly, hoping to not ruin their post sex bliss.

" Oh...I didn't think to ask you." She said with her voice just as quiet. Avalon closed her eyes and smiled contently. " I'm on the pill and trust me, I'm clean." Van laid back down, wanting to feel her heartbeat against his cheek.

" I don't have anything either." He said.

" Than let's not ruin this." She said.

He sighed when her hands came in contact with his shoulders and back. He stretched his arms up and under the pillow, loving how she started to run her fingertips down then back up his spine. This was something new to him. Julie never did this. They would have sex then he'd pull away and get fix his pants while she got dressed. They had hardly ever had sex completely naked and Van had to admit. It felt nice to be against Avalon's bare skin. She felt silky and soft and he liked it.

" Avalon!" They both jumped at the sound of her dad's voice. Van flew out of her bed, tossing her her clothes from the floor.

" Shit!" He cursed.

She caught his eyes as they hurried to dressed. Her skin was flushed and she was smiling. Van couldn't help himself. He stepped into his pants and started to laugh. She called out to her dad, telling him she was on the balcony of her room while she quickly put on her bra. The couple continued to smile and tried hard to hold in their laughter while they both rushed.

" Go outside! Hurry up!" Avalon snatched up Van's shoes then pushed him towards the balcony. " I have to make the bed!"

He grinned but did what she ordered, catching his shoes when she tossed them at him. He finished with his shirt and the converses while she threw the blankets over her bed and straighten them. She yanked her shorts up off the floor and threw her legs in. She almost ran out to join him and the two flopped down, grabbing her stretch pads at the same time her dad entered her room.

" Hey Daddy." She said. They both turned and looked up at the older man as he crossed the room with a frown.

" I didn't know you had company." Gideon said.

" Hello, Mr. Weathervane." Van said.

" I thought you two broke up or something." Gideon said. The young couple looked at each other and smiled.

" We worked it out." Avalon said.

" Yeah, it's all good." Van answered.

" All good? Well...I guess that's...good." Gideon said slowly. " I'm going to make toasted cheese sandwiches. Will Van be joining us?" Avalon broke the eye contact to look back at her dad and nod.

" Yeah." She said. " Thanks, Dad."


	8. Chapter 8

_* Please Review! *_

" Van!" Van turned as he sat on the downed log while he talked with Jason and Flip. He grinned at the sight of Avalon hurrying towards him through the woods. He looked back at his friends and his grin widen. He wiped his hands on his pants while Jason rolled his eyes and Flip looked back at Avalon.

" Hang on." Van said, pushing himself up. He turned around just as Avalon reached him and jumped. Van started laughing, catching her easily. Her legs circled his waist while her arms went around his shoulders. He took a hold of her by her ass, capturing her lips with his own.

" Come on!" Jason yelled out in a teasing tone.

" I want a girlfriend." Flip muttered.

" No shit, Van. Let us borrow her for a while." Jason said. Van turned them so his friends had the couple's profiles and managed to flip them off while his tongue danced with hers.

" We won't rough her up to bad." Flip promised. Avalon, choosing to ignore the sexual comments, pulled away to meet Van's eyes.

" My dad's going to be gone for two days. You should come over. We can watch a movie and you can stay the night." She said.

" Yeah, yeah that sounds cool." Van said. His dad could be without him for a night, right?

" Can we come too?" Flip said.

" No." Van answered for his girlfriend, making her laugh.

She slipped down his body, knowing she was rubbing against his erection the entire way down and not caring. She saw the way his eyes widen and loved the want that flashed over his face. Three days they had been together officially and they had been busy, hanging out and finding time and places to be intimate. Since they both lived with their dads and both dads were shut ins, it was hard so anytime they had privacy, they took it. Van had even rowed them into the middle of the lake, late the night before, and they had had sex in her little row boat. With her dad being gone for a few days, Van was looking forward to taking his time with her and really getting to know her body.

" That's not fair." Jason said. " She said he'll be gone for two days. We can spend some time there." Avalon placed her hands on Van's chest, pulling his attention down to her instead of his friends.

" They can come over for dinner." She said.

" See!" Flip said as he clapped his hands once.

" No." Van said again. Avalon laughed and started to rub his chest. She looked over at the disappointed faces of the boys.

" Sorry, Boys. Maybe next time." She said.

" Bullshit." Jason said. " But we can debate that later. I have a sale to make."

Van and Avalon clasp their hands together and started following after Jason and Flip. They kept a little distance between them so the couple could talk while they leaned into each other. Flip pushed at Jason then laughed when the other guy snapped at him. Along the lake bank they walked until they reached a small dock. Tied off at the end of it was a small boat. Standing on the dock was three very well dressed guys. Jason reached into his pocket and pulled out a bag of weed. Avalon and Van stayed on the bank. They turned to face each other. Avalon took his other hand, linked their fingers together and lifted their arms up and over their heads. Van grinned as he stared down at her.

" So listen, I got a job." She said while Jason and Flip made their drug deal.

" Where?" Van asked. He squeezed her hands before giving her a tug to bring her into his body. He wrapped their arms around her body, tucking their combined hands into her lower back so they were pressing into each other again.

" At the coffee shop in town but I have to provide my birth certificate since I don't have a drivers license. You want to help me look for it tonight?" She asked.

" Yeah, sure thing." Van said, dipping his head down to kiss her again. It was quick, closed mouth but it made him smile and warmed him. " What time is Gideon leaving?"

" He's gone already. I saw him off then came looking for you." Avalon said. He placed a kiss on her cheek then her neck.

" Then what the hell are we doing here?" Van asked, letting go of her hands. She laughed, slipping her hands around his shoulders again. He grabbed at her back, pulling her into him even more as he continued lightly pecking at the soft skin at her neck.

" I thought we could hang with the boys before going back to my place." Avalon whispered.

" We can hang with them anytime. Let's go back to your house." Van kissed and nibbled against her jaw before looking at her.

" Okay." Van grinned but pulled away from her. He took her hand, tilted his chin at Flip before the couple wandered off. " So I was thinking we should take a shower."

" Together?" Van asked quickly, looking down at her. Avalon squeezed his hand then let her other hand glide down his arm until she reached his wrist. She always had her hands on him, no matter what they were doing and he loved it. It was like she couldn't control herself, she had to touch him. Avalon smiled and nodded to his question. Van stopped walking and let go of her hand. He turned to give her his back and reached behind him. " Hop on." Avalon laughed but did what he asked, hopping onto his back. He looped his hands under her knees while her arms went around his neck. Seconds later, Van was running through the woods with her laugh ringing out.

NRNRNR

Their eyes stayed locked together as they both kicked off their shoes in one of the bathrooms in the upstairs part of her house. She was smiling but he was swallowing over and over again to try and contain his excitement. He hadn't seen her completely naked since their first time together. Every other time they had had sex, it had been waist down nakedness only. He wanted her naked more and decided in that moment, he would make more private time for them. He would make them different than girls in his past.

Avalon grabbed at the hem of her tank top and pulled it over her head, feeling the ends on her hair brush against her back. She reached behind her to unclasp her bra at the same time Van's shirt hit the floor. All the air in her body left her at once. How did one guy look that good shirtless? It should be illegal for his chest and stomach to be that impressive. A tingling sensation started to swirl around deep inside her. Warmth pooled between her legs and excitement heated her blood. She wanted to run her nails down him. She wanted to kiss against his stomach. She wanted to hear his breath hitch while she took him in her mouth, like he had done in the row boat the night before. She wanted his knuckle to blance white while she swirled her tongue around him.

Hot water steamed down Van's bare back while he fisted her hair in one hand and pressed his other one into her back. Slowly, he owned her mouth, kissing her as deep and slow as he could. She was moaning against his lips. He was breathing hard, pressing his fingers into her skin. Closer and closer he wanted her, he pulled at her. He opened his hand in her hair then closed it again and tugged on the wet locks.

But they didn't stay like that long. Van couldn't take it and he knew it. He was too hard and felt too needy for her. He let her lips go, loving how swollen and red they were from his, turned her with his hands and gently pressed her into the wall. He spread her legs careful then bend his knees to angle himself just where he needed to be. With one hand on her shoulder and one hand holding his dick, he moved into her. She moaned out. His head went back while his eyes shut. This was one of his favorite parts of sex. She would tighten on him as he pushed into her body and the feeling that created blew his mind.

Van lowered his head down, took a hold of both her hips while opening his eyes. She pushed back with her body and his thrusting began. Over and over again he moved into her body then pulled back. She slapped her hands down on the shower wall while he latched his mouth to her shoulder. Her fingersgrinded against the wall as her hands started to close. Electric shocks of pleasure burst through her with his every movement. He groaned against her skin, making it vibrate and give her chills.

He had wanted to take his time, had planned on it, but excitement was getting the better of him and Van found himself thrusting harder and deeper every few seconds. She didn't mind and wasn't disappointed, he could tell by the way she moaned his name and met his thrusts. Perfect, his mind started to repeat. Her sounds, her skin, the way she moved and felt, it was all to perfect.

" Van..." She breathed out.

" Say it again." He groaned before kissing against the back of her ear. " Please."

Louder and louder she started calling out to him. His name a throaty, husky word on her lips. He clutched his eyes shut and it was his turn to whimper. No one had ever said his name the way she was. He needed to move faster. Male instinct took over at once and he was thrusting without thinking. He pressed his mouth against her skin but wasn't kissing her. How could he? His entire brain was robbed of all it's senses.

Color burst through the back of Avalon's eyelids when she started to orgasm. She tensed and squeezed her hands so tightly closed that her knuckles went white. Her thighs trembled and in the back of her mind, she could hear Van losing himself. She could almost feel his hot burst inside her as he hit her one last time before his body froze with his own pleasure. One of his hands opened then closed against on her skin. His chest heaved and his breath rushed out all over her.

" Oh shit." Van whispered, sagging into her. " I'm sorry, Av. I wanted that to be slower."

" Don't be sorry." Avalon answered in a dreamy sigh. " So good." She whispered, making him grin.

After they were dressed and her hair was pulled up, Avalon made them sandwiches then they headed up to her attic. Gideon never unpacked everything they had and she knew there were a few boxes he stored in the attic. If she had asked him for the paperwork she needed, he would have given it to her but Avalon wanted to keep the job a surprise for her dad. Since she had already searched his office and come up with nothing, she hoped he kept the birth certificate in one of the boxes.

" You know, I have actually never been in here." Avalon said when they reached the top of the stairs. She grabbed one of the small chains hanging from an exposed bulb and gave it a tug. Light filled the small space at once.

" You haven't?" Van asked.

" No. Dad brought everything up when I was putting my room together." Van looked around, following his girlfriend as she made her way to a group of boxes sitting in the middle of the room.

When they sat down, side by side, Avalon pushed a box over to Van but they didn't start digging right away. They ate their lunch meat sandwiches and talked about what they wanted to do with the rest of their day, deciding that they would swim for a while and then fish. Van needed to go back home and grab a few things as well as tell Chad he wasn't staying for the night and that was something he wasn't looking forward to doing. His dad would look up at Van with a wounded look in his eyes, like he almost resented Van for having a life and someone in it. It was the same look he had every time Van said he was leaving the house to hang out with Avalon.

" Okay..." She started when they were done eating. " Let's get this over with."

She opened her box while Van did the same. He looked through the different pieces of glass wear, deciding that there was nothing in that box they needed and closing it up. It was moved the side while he went for another. Her box was much of the same so it joined his. They looked through another box and another and another before Avalon found one that contained a large photo album.

" Wow, that's weird." She said when she sat down with it on her lap.

" What is?" Van asked without looking up from his box.

" Well, my dad said when I was six, the house we lived in caught fire and he lost all the photos of me when I was a baby and real young. I don't remember it because I guess I almost died or something but this is a photo album." She said. Van finally looked up at her to see her running her hand over the older book. He smiled and hurried over to sit down beside her.

" Open it up. I want to see what you look like as a kid." He said with a grin. Avalon laughed but did what he suggested.

" Whoa, what is this?" Avalon asked herself. It wasn't photos staring up at them. It was a marriagelicense. " My dad was married to someone else besides my mom?" Avalon asked in shock. GideonWeathervan had married an Emma Harris and Emma was not her mom's name. Her name had been Emily. " Why would he keep this from me?" Van slipped his arm around Avalon's shoulders and kissed her cheek to try and offer some reassurance as they turned the next page.

" Holy shit." Van breathed out.

" I have a sister." Avalon whispered, running her hand over a birth certificate that was not hers. Her stomach dropped down as ice hit her veins. Suddenly, it was hard for her to breath. Van moved his hand to the center of her back and started to rub slow circles into her with the heel of his palm in between her shoulder blades.

" There has to be a reason he never told you about her and you haven't met her." Van tried to reason. Van had to admit, he was just as surprised as she was. He knew the father and daughter were close.

" Her name is Abby." Avalon said, reading over the birth certificate. The next few pages were filled with photos. There were images of a young Gideon, a young woman and a baby. Gideon looked happy as he kissed a little cheek, snuggled with the bundle wrapped in blankets or held the baby over his head. Avalon swallowed and shivered. When she was little, she had always asked Gideon if he could get her sister. She had been lonely and wanted a playmate. Her father had always said, it wasn't that easy to do. He knew she had wanted a sister. He knew she had one and he had chose to keep that information from her.

" Don't be upset, Av." Van said, gently.

" I don't understand why he won't tell me about her." She said, turning the page. And the answer hit her square in the face on that next page. There was an article about a deadly crash. A crash caused by a drunk driver and had claimed the lives of Emma and Abby Weathervane. The baby had been only two months old. " Oh my God." She whispered.

" That's why he never told you. It must have been too painful." Van said. His hand stilled it's movements to travel up her body to her neck. He took a careful hold of it and started to rub again.

" What the shit is this? Did you read this? The driver just got probation because she had never been in trouble before. My poor daddy." Avalon said.

" Look at the year. You were born a few years later." Van said, pointing to the date on the paper.

They turned the page again and saw more articles. The first article was about a woman who went missing from a town in New Mexico. The couple read through it with Avalon frowning. She didn't know the name and wondered if she had been related to her dad in someway. Avalon had never met any family members from either side. Gideon had told her that he had been an only child whose parents hadn't been close to anyone and had died when he was a teen. As for her mother's side, well they had refused to tell him where she had gone so he had cut ties with them. Avalon turned the page and found an another article about another missing woman from a another town.

" What the hell?" Van asked. Third, fourth, fifth page, all the same. All articles about missing women in different cities. " Why did he save these?"

" Well dad sometimes becomes obsessed with things. When I was nine, he was all about trains. We had this house with a huge basement and he set up this long ass train track. We spend months building and painting towns to fit around the track then one day, he was just done with it. Another time, he was all about finding and collecting old keys. This must have just been one of his obsessions." She said as they continued to read the different articles.

" Have you lived in any of these towns?" Van asked.

" No. I mean, some of them are towns next to where we lived but I haven't actually lived in these towns." She said.

The last article they came too was that of a missing woman and her young child. A daughter who had been four. They had been taken from the woman's home in Avon, Ohio. The woman's husband, the girl's father, begged in the article for their safe return. He described the woman has having light brown hair and bright green eyes. The missing little girl had the same light hair and bright eyes. They were all he had, the man claimed.

" Okay, I need a break." Avalon said, snapping the book shut. She sighed and looked at her boyfriend. "Can we go swimming now?"


	9. Chapter 9

_* Please Review! Sorry for the wait, my birthday came and then my daughter had her birthday party so I was busy*_

Van's arms sliced through the cool lake water as he kicked and swam with Avalon on his back. She was holding onto his shoulders, slowing kicking her legs to help them move and stay afloat. She hadn't said much since they left the attic. Van had laid across the bed and watched her change into her swimming suit, with his mouth watering. He wanted her again but she wasn't in the mood. Her eyes were unfocused and he didn't want to bother her so he had made no move for her. Instead, he had let his eyes drink in her naked form. She still hadn't spoken when they made their way to the row boat or when they rowed out onto the dock in the middle of the lake.

" I'll need to stop off at my house to get a bag of clothes and my toothbrush." Van said quietly. Avalon squeezed him, pulling herself into his back more. She sighed and started to rub her nose against the back of his head, making Van smile.

" Let's spend some time with your dad." At her reply, Van's smile started to fade and a frown took it's place. Avalon had never officially met his dad and Van wasn't sure he wanted her too. Chad was a depressed man who never smiled anymore. He would be rude to her by ignoring her, most likely. His shit attitude had managed to push away almost everyone in Van's life and he wasn't ready to lose her too.

" Nah...I don't think that's a good idea." Van said.

" Please. I want to do this. It's important to me." She said. Van kept up his pace in the water, thinking. Why was it important to her? Why did she care about meeting and spending time with his dad? He shook his head without thinking. Avalon pressed her lips to his neck and whispered, " Please?"

" Why?" Van demanded.

" Because he's important to you. Because he's apart of your life." She said. Van held his breath briefly. She wanted to meet his dad because of him. How could he deny her that?

" Okay look, my dad is...well you saw him that night. He's quiet, more than your dad." He finally said.

" That's okay. Please, Van." It was the please, Van that really did it for him.

" Yeah, alright." He said.

When mid-afternoon hit, Van and Avalon had showered again and put on dry clothes then made their way over to his house. He was more than nervous. What if...Van squeezed her hand at the same time he shook his head. He wasn't going to think about losing her. She let her fingers glide down his arm in the way he was quickly starting to like. He looked at her to see her smile. Van forced his own smile then looked back as his house came into view.

" Dad?" Van called out when they walked into the house. His dad didn't answer, not that Van expected him too. He never answered. Van gently pulled Avalon through the kitchen and into the living room. His dad was right where he thought he'd be, sitting in his chair, in front of the TV. Chad looked up at them, his eyes shifting to Avalon in surprise. " Hey. Um..." Van looked back at Avalon, who smiled at him and squeezed his arm. He looked back at his dad and nodded. " So, this is Avalon, my girlfriend. This is Chad, my dad."

" Hello." Avalon said. Chad swallowed hard, like his son did when he was nervous.

" Hello." He said quietly. Staring. Chad stared at Avalon. Van stared at his dad. Avalon looked from son to dad.

" I'm spending the night at her house tonight. Her dad is gone." Van said. Chad nodded slowly.

" Oh, okay." He said before silence spread through them again.

" Um...so do you want to paint the soldiers?" Van finally asked. " Yeah, let's do that." He answered his own question, choosing not to wait for his dad's answer. He spun around, pulling Avalon with him. He hurried out of the living room and back into the kitchen. " Sit here." He said when they reached his small table.

" Van." Avalon said when he pulled the chair out for her.

" Hmm?" Van asked. He guided her to the chair and helped her sit before turning around and grabbing the box of paints he and his dad used, in one hand, and the other box filled with toy soldiers in the other. He moved back to the table and started to set things up, his hands shaking with the movements. This was a mistake, he was thinking over and over again. She was going to think his dad was weird then she would think Van was weird. Why had he suggested the painting? This was weird, even for him. He frowned as one of his hands knocked over one of the paints. " Shit." He snapped grabbing it and righting the small bottle.

" Van." Avalon said, placing her hand on top of his to still him. Van exhaled hard but didn't look at her. She sat straight up and gently kissed his cheek. " It's fine." She whispered. Finally, Van turned his head and started to study her face. Avalon sighed and nodded. " I promise." She whispered. Van pressed his lips against hers without a warning. It was a hard kiss with no tongue but it was just what he needed. He just needed that small, intimate contact.

" I'll be back." Van said before pulling away and hurrying out of the kitchen.

Avalon would like painting the soldiers, he decided he was sure. She liked to draw, Gideon painted, this would be something she would enjoy. As Van walked back to his dad to bring them all together, Van felt his stomach start to relax. He even smiled when he took a hold of Chad's chair. Yeah, this was going to work, and not only because Avalon was different from the other people in town but because she really liked him and he liked her.

Van set his dad in his usual place at the table, back to the kitchen, facing the window. Van walked around the back of Avalon and sat down across from Chad. She was on Van's right. Quietly, Chad told her which colors to use on the soldiers and together, the three got to work. Van kept his head down so he could watch her and Chad without them knowing. Chad wasn't so careful with his eyes. He looked from his soldiers to her to his son to his work again. Avalon, on the other hand, happily watched her work and made light conversation with the two.

" So you don't think my dad is weird?" Van asked when he and Avalon were walking back to her place.

" No, why?" She asked. She started to swing his arm again while she held his hand.

" I don't know." He said with a shrug of his shoulders, causing the backpack on his back to brush against his skin.

" I had a good time." Avalon reassured him. " I promise. Thank you for letting me spend time with him."

NRNRNR

Avalon laid on her side, staring through the darkness of her room and out her window. Van was curled up into her back with his arm around her waist, breathing slowly against her neck. He was so warm, so naked, that she snuggled back into him just to be closer. Van reacted in his sleep by tensing his arm and holding her closer. He rubbed his nose into her hair and sighed. They had had a good time that night. Avalon had made dinner, Van had cleaned it up. They snuggled together on her couch and watched a movie, then took a late night swim. They had sex in her bed and now he was sleeping but she was wide awake.

Images from the newspaper and the pictures they had come upon were haunting her. She thought her and Gideon was so open with each other. She knew she was open with him. She had actually come to him the day after her and Van had first slept together and told him. Gideon hadn't been happy but didn't say much. He had always told her that if she was honest with him, she wouldn't get into much trouble, even if the truth pissed him off. He had also been honest with her...she had thought.

Was Van right? Was that truth just too painful for him to talk about? Was the death of his family before her, just too much for him to bare? Pain and heartache lanced through her. She felt horrible that her dad felt like he had to bare it all alone. She couldn't take the pain away from him but she could help him carry it. Should she say anything to him about it? Avalon sighed and shook her head. No. Gideon was hiding it from her and would be pissed that she had found it. He wanted to hold it inside, she would let him. She would just make sure she did a few extra nice things for him. She would hug him more and tell him how much she loved him.

" What's wrong?" Van's voice was husky and sleep filled as he partially sat up to look down at her. Avalon turned onto her back and gave him a small smile.

" Nothing, why?" She asked.

" I felt you shaking your head." He whispered, laying back down.

" I was just thinking." She said.

She rolled over so they were facing each other. She pressed into his chest and kissed the hollow of his throat. Van closed his eyes but smiled. He rubbed his chin against the top of her head and let his fingers trail up her back then back down again. This was nice. As one of her arms went under his and around to his back, Van couldn't help but think how good cuddling felt. He had never really cuddled with a girlfriend before and to be doing it naked...Van started to grin.

" Shower together in the morning?" He whispered. He slipped one leg in between hers and took a hold of her left leg. He guided it over his leg then let his hand travel back up her nakedness.

" Of course." Avalon whispered.

NRNRNR

_ He stalked through the dark streets with a frown of his face. He had waited too long and now the need was ready to over take him. He used to be able to go months without having to satisfy the need but the older he got, the more he needed. He needed to punish anyone who looked like the one who haunted his dreams. The one who took everything from him. _

_ This was different though. The need in him was changing and he knew it. It was being replaced with fear. Fear of being alone. Fear of being left by the one person he loved now. The one person who reminded him so much of the other one, the one that he been taken from him to soon. She talked about leaving him, HIM who had done everything for her. He had saved her from the one who couldn't take care of her and love her with everything in him. He had given everything he could to her, shown her things most people never saw, taught her things. He had loved her and protected her and now she was thinking about leaving him. How dare she! And for another one!_

_ His frown deepen as his hands went into two fists. He needed to find someone now. Anger was quickly replacing the fear and the need. He had to find someone who could take this anger away from him. If he didn't and he went home, he was scared he'd lose control and take it out on her. Or the new HIM. He hated the new one but if he hurt the boy, she would hate him. And he knew he couldn't handle that._

_ As he roamed the dark alleyways, he finally found what he was looking for. Hookers were the best to take now. No one missed a hooker. Killing wasn't as easy as it used to be, not with the advances that law enforcement had made since he had first started this journey. He didn't like having to settle on hookers but often times, they didn't really remind him of the drunk but on times like this, when he was overwhelmed, he had learned to not be picky._

_ " Hey." He said to the woman. At least she had blond hair, like the drunk. It was bleached blond hair but it was blond._

_ " Hey. You looking for company?" Her smoke filled voice asked._

_ " Yeah." As his only answer. _

_ " You have cash?" The hooker asked._

_ " Of course." She smiled and nodded._

_ " Then come with me." She purred._

_ His hands were wrapped around her neck as soon as they were alone and in the dark. She fought, they all fought but he gritted his teeth and started to squeeze harder. His arms locked down and shook as he started to bang her head over and over against the pavement. Sweat broke out along his hair line as he grunted. She crawled at his arms which were covered in a long sleeve shirt, despite the heat. He had to wear shirts like that because they fought back and he couldn't have marks on him._

_ " Fucking bitch." He hissed. " Fucking, stupid drunk bitch."_

_ After a few minutes, her struggling lessen, just like he knew they would. A glassy look passed over her face, like it always did when death took over. Soon...soon...her body gave way underneath his. She went limp. He slowly pulled his hands away from her throat. He checked her pulse then leaned down over her face to see if she was breathing still._

_ Nothing._

_ Relief rushed through him at once. He sat back on her legs, tilted his head up towards the sky and inhaled. He rode through the pleasure of the death. This was good, this was great. This would hold him over for a while. Not as long as he wanted it too but for a while. He opened his eyes and started to stare. Now that the need was gone, he could start thinking about how to keep what was his. He could start thinking about how to get rid of him without hurting her. It used to be easy. He would just gather her up and leave. She had no choice but to go but she was an adult now and soon...to soon...he wouldn't be able to make her do things. She was determined to start her own life._

_ As he picked up the dead woman and hurried to his car, he thought about the love of his life. His child, the one he had cared for since he had first seen her. She might not share his blood but that hadn't stopped him from loving her. She was perfect. She was just what the first one would have been, he was sure. She looked just how he was sure the first would have looked had she been allowed to live._

_ Grief swelled inside him as he opened his trunk. Tears burned his eyes as he dumped the body inside. He swept the back of one of his hands across his eyes. He had loved that first one, loved her so much that he had thought he would die the second she had. He had waited, in fact, for his heart to stop. He had waited for his lungs to refuse to take in air but it never happen. Not when he viewed their bodies at the hospital. Not when he started at the coffin that held both his lives, not when he watched the coffin being lowered into the ground. Of course he had put them together. He couldn't stand the idea of his family being apart forever. He couldn't stand the idea of the baby being alone. She needed her mother._

_ He sobbed as he slammed his trunk closed. His body started to tremble with the tears. The pain never lessen, it never went away. People had promised him he would love them forever, never forget them but that the pain of their loss would fade but it hadn't. It was still fresh as the night they were taken. It still hurt as bad as when the first stab of pain hit him when he learned of their deaths. _

_ " She's not going anywhere!" He snapped to himself as he dug the grave deep in the woods he had scoped out beforehand. " I'm not losing her too!" _

_ He worked and dug down until he was waist deep in the hole. He pulled himself out of the grave and dropped down his shovel He grabbed the body, tossed her in then started covering her up. No, he wouldn't lose anyone, not anymore. He would just show her just how much she needed him, not the boy. He would remind her that he already loved her and that the boy didn't. A smile ghosted across his face. Yeah, he could do that because she trusted him, not the boy. She loved him, not the other._


	10. Chapter 10

_* Please Review! So I really hope you guys dont think this is moving to slow. I really wanted to take my time with this.*_

" Are you going to say anything to your dad?" Van asked as he stood on the dock with a fishing line in the water.

He glanced down at his girlfriend as she leaned back with her arms behind her and her hands supporting her upper body. She tilted her head up towards the sun and closed her eyes. His eyes zoned in on the small dark spot on her throat, his mark. He smirked as the memory of the giving the mark went through him. He had his own marks on his body from her, little bite marks, scratches on his back, a dark spot on his chest, right above his right nipple.

" I don't know. I thought about that last night when you were sleeping. I'm not sure I should." She said.

Van nodded as he started to chew on the left side of the inside of his lip. He looked back at his line and sighed. He understood, he got how hard it was to talk to a parent about something. He had a million things he wanted to ask his dad about his mom but just couldn't bring himself to do it. His mom leaving was hard on Van but he knew it was even harder on his dad. Deep inside him, he didn't want to ask Chad for fear of hurting him even more. If he did that...Van was scared his dad would retreat more into himself than he already was.

" I get that." Van said. He looked down quickly when he felt her touch his leg. She smiled up at him, pushing his cargo pant leg up to touch his bare skin. Van smiled then looked back at his fishing line. She wrapped herself around him, sitting on his shoe. Van looked back down at her as she pulled into him like a child would do a father. " What are you doing?" He asked as he laughed.

" Sitting on you." She said while she continued to rub his leg. Van grinned and shook his head but looked back to the water.

" You're a strange girl." He said, bobbing his line up and down.

" I'm your strange girl." Avalon said, making him chuckle. " So for lunch, let's make sandwiches then go to your house and eat them with your dad." At once Van's smile, laughter, and good mood started to dissolve. She met Chad, spent time with him, Van thought that was all she wanted, that she would be satisfied and not want to see him again. Van started to frown.

" I don't know." He said quietly. Avalon grabbed at his thigh and started to pretend to crawl up his leg. She continued to stare at him, rubbing herself against his leg, his hips, his stomach, then against his chest as she rose up between his arms. She kissed the left side of his neck, then right, then the center.

" I think we should." She whispered before she kissed against his chin.

" Av..." Van looked at her again as she took a hold of his hips. She blinked at him and shrugged. Van groaned and looked away, knowing he was going to give into her. " Okay, yeah. He'll like that."

" Good." She snuggled into him, slipping her hands around his waist to settle them into his back pockets. She closed her eyes and let her head rest against his chest. He took a hold of the line in one hand and put his other arm around her shoulders. " I like you." And his smile was back.

" I like you too." Van answered.

NRNRNR

Van stretched out on Avalon's couch with her tucked into his side and her head on his chest. One of her hands was under his shirt and her finger tips were running slow circles around his stomach. One of her legs was over his. He had both his arms around her tightly. They were relaxing from a long day. They fished, went swimming, had lunch with Chad then spend the rest of the day with Jason and Flip. Gideon was due back anytime so they were soaking up the alone time while they had it. The TV was on but they weren't really watching it. Van was thinking about how nice it was to be a relationship like he had with Avalon and she was listening to his heartbeat. She was taking in his scent and his warmth, knowing Gideon wouldn't let the young man spend the night with her.

" Does your dad like me?" Avalon asked.

" I think so." Van answered. And he meant it. Chad had actually made an effort to talk to her. He had asked her a few questions, quietly, and he had barely looked at her when he did, but it was something. Once, Van even thought he had seen Chad smile. " So tomorrow night, there's another concert. You want to go with Jason and Flip?"

" Yeah, sure." She said at the same time the garage door started to open. She lifted her head up as he looked down at her. " Shit...I don't think I'm ready to see him."

" Do you want to come and sleep at my house?" Van asked. Avalon sighed and shook his head.

" No, I have to face him sometime." She said.

She pushed against the couch to bring her head up to his and kissed him lightly. The couple kissed quietly a few more times before Van slipped his tongue into her mouth to taste her. One of his hands went to her neck to draw her closer and into him more. His thumb stroked at her cheek while his fingers flicked back and forth to feel her hair better. She tilted her head to give him a deep entrance into her mouth and moaned slightly. He could drink in her kiss forever.

" Meet me at midnight." Avalon whispered. She offered him up another quick kiss.

" Yeah okay." Van answered. She didn't need to tell him where, he knew where. They would take the row boat out and spend a little more time together. They pulled away with both smiling. Together, they stood up and waited for her dad to come into the house.

After greeting her dad, Van took his leave. Gideon looked tired and almost annoyed to see him and Van didn't want to be on his bad side. Avalon had walked him him down the stairs, kissed him goodbye and Van walked out. Now he was walking home with his hands in his pockets and his head down. He started to bite at the inside of his lip again. He looked back at her house then straight forward again. He loved their alone time and was actually sad that it came to an end.

" Hi, Daddy." Avalon said as she jogged back up the stairs.

" Has he been here the whole time?" Gideon asked from his spot in the kitchen. He opened the fridge and snatched out a beer.

" Yeah. It's gets super dark and creepy here at night." She said. She smiled as he turned around and popped open the bottle. " Did you have a good time?"

" Yeah, it was a blast." Gideon said with a roll of his eyes. " I love confidences." He muttered as he brought the beer to his mouth. Avalon laughed, reaching the island in the kitchen so they were standing across from each other. She leaned forward, crossing her arms over each other on the top of the counter.

" You do love them." She said, swinging slightly from side to side. He closed his eyes and relished in cold liquid washing down his throat. Beer, that was the vice she let him have, because liquor made him mean and they both knew it.

" So Van slept here?" Gideon asked after bring the beer down. Avalon sighed loudly while rolling her eyes as she stood up straight.

" Yes!" She explained in a playful annoyance. " And I slept him all over the house, even in your bed."

" Disgusting." Gideon spit out. Avalon laughed while shaking her head. " You know, some daughters respect their fathers. Some daughters don't talk about that shit to their fathers. How in the hell did I get stuck with you?" Avalon laughed again and started around the island towards him.

" Just lucky I guess. Did you eat?" She asked. " I can make you something."

" I'm not hungry." Gideon said. Avalon came to her dad's side, wrapping her arms around his waist when she did.

" I missed you." She said with her eyes closed. Gideon sighed and set his beer down. He put one arm around her first, then the other. He squeezed her hard before dropping a kiss on the top of her head.

" I missed you too." He whispered into her hair.

" I have news for you and I think you're going to be proud of me." She said.

" And what's that?" Gideon asked.

" I got a job." Avalon said.

NRNRNR

Van was waiting in the dark, by the row boat, shortly before midnight. His dad was sleeping, the sky was clear, it was warm and quiet. It was a perfect night. He kept his hands in his pockets while he held his breath to try and hear her. He usually beat her to the boat so he wasn't worried that she hadn't gotten there yet. Ideas were flowing through his mind. He knew Chad won't mind if she stayed over so he was thinking about asking her to go home with him the next night. She won't that night because of Gideon just getting home. He won't ask to sleep at her place because the look in Gideon's face told Van all he needed to know about what the answer would be. Hell no. Gideon's tight grip on his daughter actually made sense to Van now that they had found out what they had. He had had a wife and daughter who had been killed. He had another wife and daughter and that wife ran out on him. Avalon was all he had left...

" Van?" He turned around and smiled at the sound of her whisper.

" I'm here." He answered. She came out of the bushes and sighed at the sight of him. Van grinned. She had changed her clothes and was wearing a white, strapless sundress. The moonlight was glistening off her tan shoulders and she had pulled her hair up and off her neck.

" Hey, wow, you look great." He said.

" Thanks." She answered as she reached him. Van started to frown at the look on her face. She wasn't smiling like she usually was when they saw each other. There was no excitement in her voice or her eyes.

" What's wrong?" He asked. Avalon rolled her eyes, placing her hands on his shoulders. Van's own hands went to her hips. He pulled her into his body as she circled his neck.

" I told Gideon about the job and he got mad. He is refusing to give my birth certificate." She said while they hugged. She stepped up on her toes to reach him better. He squeezed her waist and snuggled his face into her hair.

" Why would that make him mad?" Van asked. His hands moved up her back and spread open just to touch her more. They turned their heads towards each other, with him bending down so she didn't have to stretch so much.

" I don't know. I asked him that. I said he should want me to get a job, be a good member of society and not be a drain on him but he just yelled I didn't need one because he would always take care of me and walked away." Avalon said. " If I don't get that, I can't work." Van frowned and pulled away to look at her better.

" That's so weird, Av." He said.

" I know. I mean, he was really mad at me too. I thought he'd be proud but he wasn't." She said.

" Maybe he's just tired." Van said. Avalon didn't look convinced but she nodded.

" Yeah, maybe. Can we just go out onto the boat now?" She asked. Van smiled then grinned.

" Hell yeah." He pulled away as her hands slipped down his chest. They both smiled while their hands clasped together. Van started walking backwards, pulling her along with him and soon, they were both laughing.

Van rowed them out to their favorite spot then dropped the small anchor. Avalon kept her smile as she laid down and lifted the hem of her dress. Van, with his eyes locked on hers, pulled his shirt over his head, balled it up then laid down over her. She lifted her head for him to slide the shirt under her to offer her a small amount of comfort.

As his lips found hers, he reached between them and quickly opened his pants. He pulled his fast growing erection before reaching up her dress. Like she did every time he touched her, Avalon moaned into his mouth and arched her back up to press her chest against his. She was already ready for him but his fingers moved between her warmth and her panties anyway. As slowly as he could, Van started to rub slow circles around her small nerves. She grabbed at his shoulders, digging her nails into his skin at once. He loved that small bite of pain that came with the movement.

" Van." She whispered. " Now."

He was off her in a heartbeat. She laughed with her cheeks inflamed as he pushed the dress up. He grabbed at her panties and yanked them down. As soon as they hit the boat floor, he was back on top of her, pushing his way into her to give them both what they wanted. Unlike the time in the shower, and the three times in her bed, then the shower again, this was going to be fast. It had to be and they both knew it.

" Shit." Van cursed against her lips. Faster...harder...Van grabbed at the boat above her head and squeezed his eyes shut. His hips pumped and thrust. She lifted to meet him, pulling them both closer and closer. She whimpered and whined and then the explosion hit. Her legs shot up and closed around him. Her mouth dropped open and one of her hands yanked on his hair. She clamped down on him, sending trembling sparks of bliss through him. Then it was Van's turn.

Afterwards, Van helped her with her panties then adjusted her dress before fixing himself. They smiled and talked, making plans for the next day while he rowed them to shore. Once the boat was dock and tied off, they made out for a few more minutes before they parted ways. His lips, his tongue, were coated in her taste and her warmth. His hair was sticking up in the back from her hands pulling at the strands. Van rubbed at his lips while he smiled and watched her disappear into the woods.

Van turned and started towards his own house. At first, he was just walking but that quickly changed and soon, he was running. Sprinting really, to get home. He was grinning as the night air whipped by him, cooling his overheated skin. His tongue went out and over his lips. He loved that they were still tingling from her kisses, loved that he could still feel her touch and hear her moans. He loved that his shoulders stung slightly from the dig of her nails.

Van slowed his pace as he hit his house. He slipped in quietly then locked the door. He hurried to his room and snatched up his flashlight. He went right over to the window, pointed the end of the flashlight at her house then made to flashes of light. Seconds went by before the light flash was returned from her window. He grinned again then looked into his telescope. She came into view quickly and was waving from her balcony. He gave another flash, letting her know he had seen her. That was their sign, their way of letting each other know that they had gotten home safely.

" Goodnight, Av." Van whispered to himself. He pulled his shirt off, kicked off his shoes then crawled into his bed.

NRNRNR

One month later:

" Avalon." Gideon said, walking into his daughter's room while she finished braiding her hair one morning.

" Dad." She said.

He put his hands on his hips and stopped walking when he was standing behind her while she was sitting at her vanity. He frowned at her reflection but she wasn't looking at him. She was watching her work. Things between them had been off. She was upset, angry with him and Gideon knew it. Why couldn't she just accept that having a job wasn't the answer to everything? Why couldn't she just accept the money Gideon was offering her? She wanted a drivers license, he'd produce the birth certificate for that. She wanted a car, he'd buy her the one she wanted. She wanted to travel, he'd take her anywhere but he would not, and could not, allow her to get a job. A job would lead to more independence and that would leave to her leaving him. No, Gideon could not handle it if she left him.

" I think...you should...invite Van and his dad over for a cookout." He said through gritted teeth. Her fingers pause and her eyes flicked up to his face through the mirror. She started to smile but caught herself and stopped it. She blinked slow and long.

" I told you, Chad is in a wheelchair, there's no way to get him into the house." She said quietly. She looked back to her braid and started to fasten it.

" Then we will cook outside. We have a picnic table in the back and a grill." Gideon said. Avalon sighed, looking back at her father again. She tilted her head and studied him in a way Gideon was used too. She studied him like she studied art, with a critical eye.

" Why? Why do you want to do this? You barely speak to Van when he's here. He has breakfast and a lot of dinners here and you barely look at him." She finally said.

" I know that but you really like him." Gideon answer. He brought his hands up and placed them on her shoulders. He gave her a squeeze and a sigh. " And it's time I do something about that, don't you think?" Avalon smiled and nodded.

" Yeah, I do. So this weekend?" She asked.

" Sounds good." Gideon leaned down dropped a kiss to the top of her head. " Never forget how much I love you, that I would do anything to keep you safe and happy."

" I love you too, Dad." She said.


	11. Chapter 11

_* Please Review!*_

Van pulled his dad's car up and into Avalon's driveway with his heart in his throat. Was Gideon accepting him, finally? After a month and a half of him and Avalon dating, Gideon was willing to accept him into their life? Was he finally going to start saying more than just two words to Van and stop shooting him frowns? Van was excited. It bothered him that the man didn't like him. It made things uncomfortable when Van was at the house, he was there a lot. They had breakfast together every morning. Lunches and dinners were split between his house and hers but when they just wanted to hung out, to just watch TV, they stayed at her place. They would sit on the couch, wrapped up together, or stretch out on the couch if Gideon was busy in his office. Van felt weird touching her in front of her father since it was clear Gideon didn't like it but Avalon had no problems with it. She would kiss him, hold his hand or hug him without a second thought.

" Okay, Dad." Van said when he opened the passenger door to the car. " Give me your hands."

" Van!" Avalon called out as she burst out of the house. Van grinned while he pulled his dad out of the car.

" She gets so excited." Chad muttered.

" Yeah." Van agreed. He settled his dad into his wheelchair then turned to face her as she reached him. She launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his shoulders at once. One hand went into his hair at the back of his head while she pressed her lips to his. He grinned, putting his arms around her waist and holding her against him.

" Hi." She whispered.

" Hi." Van said with a smile. She gave his hair a slight pull before she stepped back and smiled at Chad.

" Hi." She said. " I'm so glad you came."

" Thank you for inviting me." Chad said quietly.

" So we are going to eat in the backyard since it's a nice day. Come on." Avalon said.

Van hurried around to the back of the wheel chair and off they went. He followed her along the path that went around the house and over to a picnic table that was covered in a white sheet. Sitting in the center of it was a bouquet of white daisies and a pitcher of tea. Van pushed his dad over to the end of the table then locked the brakes of the chair.

" Avalon." She looked up towards the house as Gideon started around it and towards them. " Oh, I wasn't aware that they had arrived." He said. Van turned and smiled, hoping it didn't look as nervous as he was feeling. Her dad was a serious man who hardly ever smiled and commanded all attention when he walked into a space.

" Hello, Mr. Weathervane." He said after clearing his throat.

" Hello, Van." Gideon answered, reaching the table a second later.

" So this is my dad, Chad." Van said, patting one of his dad's shoulders. Gideon nodded and smiled. It was a practiced, professional smile but it was a smile at least. He stepped closer to Chad's wheelchair, blocking out the sun from the other's face and making Gideon look taller and darker than he actually was.

" Hello. My name is Gideon." He said, extending a hand. Chad nodded, shaking his hand.

" Um...Chad." He said. He was just as nervous as his son was.

" I hope you like hamburgers." Gideon said when they dropped hands.

" I do. Thank you for having us over." Chad said.

" It's no problem. Avalon, Van, why don't you head into the house and bring down the food." Gideon said, taking a seat so he was beside Chad.

Avalon was almost grinning as she took Van's hand. He returned her smile with his own and a squeeze of his hand. They pressed into each other while they turned from the fathers and started towards the house. She leaned her head against his arm, feeling happy and relaxed. Gideon had never wanted to meet any of her boyfriends' families before.

" Now that the kids are gone, I think we should have a man to man talk." Gideon said. He brought his hands up to clasp together while his arms came to rest against the top of the table.

" A man to man talk?" Chad asked. His own hands went together while his elbows were on the arms of the chair.

" Tell me something, just where to you think this relationship can go? I mean, really?" Gideon asked, staring hard at the other man. " Because I'm going to be honest with you. My daughter is going places. I have gone through a lot of things and gone to great lengths to ensure that she will have a good life, a fruitful future. What I have seen of your son, I can't say the same. He has no job and he's almost twenty-one. He had no car of his own and he lives with his father. Do you understand what I'm getting at here?" Chad nodded slowly.

" You don't think Van is good enough for Avalon." He said.

" I don't think, I know. Now you know kids and you know that if I tell her this, it will only push her into him more. I don't know how much you know about us, but we move a lot. I want her to see everything and I can not allow her to be tied down with the likes of him. You and I both know that Van is a lifer here. Some day he may get job, his own place, but she will not be here for that. She will not be here for a some day. The plans I have for her do not involve her settling down with a laker." Gideon said. More understanding went through Chad's eyes, making Gideon smile for real. He was glad to see the man was getting it because GIdeon hated to explain things and was being as blunt as he could.

" You want me to make Van break up with her." He said.

" I do." Gideon said as he nodded. " I have already found us a new place to live, in a new town. Van will break up with her, she will be upset as I do know that she likes him a lot, and we will leave this place. She will get over it in the new place and her bright future can began." Gideon said. " As a father, I'm sure you can understand how I want the very best for my child. As a man whose wife left him, you can understand why I am so protective of what I have left. Your son seems like a nice, young man. I can say that he has very well manners but he is not the one for Avalon."

Avalon lead Van up the stairs to the main part of her house by his hand. Excitement was flowing through them both. It promised to be a good day. It was warm so they would cook out, let the fathers get to know each other then sneak away for some private time...starting right than. Avalon turned as she reached the top of the stairs. They were kissing moments later. His hands gripped at her hips, hers were pulling at his shoulders and neck. Her breath was coming out in panting bursts across his face as his tongue swirled slowly around hers. She gave another tug and by now, he knew what she wanted. He moved his hands from her hips to her ass. He picked up her so she could wrap around his waist. Avalon smiled then laughed against his lips.

" Stop laughing and just kiss me. You know we only have a few minutes." Van whispered. He tugged on her again, tilting her head to give himself more access to her mouth. He dove straight inside her, rubbing his tongue against hers. Around and around they moved in her mouth until she forced him to stop by pulling her mouth away from his.

" We have to go out there or Gideon will come looking for us." She whispered.

" I have my house keys. We can eat, I'll take dad home then we go there for alone time." Van whispered. They had started keeping pillows and blankets in his old house three weeks ago and meeting there at night instead of the row boat...meeting there at night and sometimes during the day.

" Yeah, that sounds good." Avalon said. Van returned her to the floor but grabbed at her hips as they went into the kitchen to get the meat and buns. She laughed as he slowly thrust his hips into her ass. "You better stop. You won't be able to calm down if you don't."

" I'm not going to be able to calm down anyway." Van muttered, making her laugh again.

" Then go stick your hands under some cold water." She said.

" Yeah, maybe I should." He detached himself from Avalon to turn on her sink. She was at the fridge, pulling the burgers out by the time he thrust his hands under the cold stream. " Holy shit! Yeah, that's going to work as long as I don't look at you or think about the house."

" You're so crazy." Avalon teased.

The rest of the cookout seemed to go well for the couple. Chad was quiet but that was no surprise to Avalon or Van. He hardly ever talked when Avalon was around. He wasn't rude to her, sometimes trying hard to make conversation with her when she was over, but he was quiet. He would only look at her for a few seconds at a time. His answers to her questions or his own questions to her were always given in a quiet, shy voice. Now, at the cookout, he wasn't looking at anyone but Van. The couple wasn't worried though, Chad didn't know Gideon so of course he'd be more shy.

Gideon cooked and made as polite conversation as he could. Avalon teased him about the cooking because she had been making their meals since she was fourteen and Gideon had never cooked on a grill. He made faces at her, making his daughter laugh and hug at him. When they ate, Van and Avalon sat across from each other, shooting looks at each other with want on his face and teasing playfulness on hers.

Thankful, the cookout was over and Van could get his dad into the car. He was starting to flare to life inside his camouflage shorts. Soon, twenty minutes top, he would have his girlfriend under him or above him and Van couldn't wait. He shut the car door then faced her with a grin. She gave him the coy smile that he found so attractive.

" So I'm going to take him home then meet me at the house? Jason and Flip want to hang out later, maybe smoke or something." Van said.

" Yeah, that sounds good." She touched his arms as they reached for each other. He kissed her carefully, just a soft brush of his lips against hers. " Hurry up, okay?"

" Yeah, okay." Van whispered. With more grins, they moved away from each other so Van could hurry around the car. Avalon waved to Chad who nodded and gave her a wave with just the lift of his hand. She watched as Van started up the car and pulled away.

" Van." Chad said, watching Avalon as the car backed down the driveway.

" Did you have a good time, Dad?" Van asked.

" Yeah." Chad frowned and closed his eyes. How could he do this? For the first time in a long time his son was happy, Chad could see that. Van was smiling more, he was in a good mood, he didn't snap at Chad anymore, he seem to have found something to live for again. Chad sighed, opened his eyes and looked at his son as they headed for their home. "Gideon wants you to break up with Avalon."

NRNRNR

Avalon was sitting on the stairs leading up to Van's old house, waiting with excitement stirring in her stomach. She was rubbing her hands over her thighs with her skin already starting to tingle. She could almost feel his lips on hers, could almost feel his weight pressing against her body and hear his groans. Avaon smiled and closed her eyes. Tingling, swirling excitement settled down deep inside her, pooling between her legs, getting her ready for him. What was taking him so long? She looked down at her shoes and started tapping them against the old, cracked cement stairs. Blades of grass were starting to crept through the cracks as if nature wanted to reclaim the house and had decided to start with the stairs. She took a deep breath, loving the smell of rain in the air. Rain on the lake was beautiful and sometimes she and Van would swim in it or just sit on the dock and let the cool drops drench them.

" Hey." Avalon said when she saw Van making his way up the driveway. His hands were deep in his pockets, his head was down but his steps were quick and hurried. He looked up at her while pursing his lips together. He was biting the inside of his cheek, she could tell. She stood up smiling but it died down right away. He wasn't smiling. He wasn't even happy. He should be as excited as she was. He should be hurrying up the stairs to grab her and carry her inside but instead he was just walking. " What's wrong, V?" He frowned and stopped walking when he reached her. She was standing on top stair so their faces were level.

" Gideon told my dad to make me break up with you." He said.

" What? No. No way, why would he do that?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

" He told my dad that he has big plans for you and that they don't include someone like me." Van snapped. Avalon shook her head with her own frown. " He said he doesn't want you tied down to the likes of me."

" No, he won't. Your dad heard him wrong. My dad knows how much I like you. He knows how much you mean to me so he won't say that stuff." She defended.

" Are you calling my dad a fucking liar?" Van yelled as his anger over flowed.

" No, I'm saying your dad misunderstood him. Gideon won't do that." She snapped.

" Well, he did!"

" Don't yell at me!" Avalon countered.

" Do you think the same thing! Am I not good enough for you! You think you have all this experience and you have seen so much and I'm just some laker kid you can use for now for fun! Huh?" Van yelled.

" What are you talking about! You know I don't think that! Why are you talking like that!" Avalon yelled.

" He said you are going places but I'm just staying here! He said you have a great future but I have nothing!" Van yelled. His blue eyes flashed with emotion. Anger and sadness flicked back and forth in the normally cool, playful blues.

" Van, stop, please!" She said, lowering her voice. She placed her hands on his shoulders and looked straight into his eyes. " Stop." She said. Van was panting hard and frowning harder. He grabbed at her hips and yanked her against him. Her arms went around his shoulders and they hugged each other tightly. Van turned his head so the side of his face was resting against her chest. She closed her eyes and let her chin rest against the top of his head.

" I'm not going to break up with you. That's not what I want." Van whispered. His heart was slamming in his chest and his stomach was killing him.

" Me either. I will find out what happen, okay? I'll see what happen, what he said, but I know he won't say that. I know he won't. I adore you and Gideon knows that." Avalon said. " I'll figure everything out. Let's just enjoy the rest of our day."

They tried to do just that but everything stayed on their minds. They made out but both were lost in their own worlds and gave up trying to have sex. They went into the woods with Jason and Flip and smoked a few joints. They held hands but barely talked. Van was annoyed and he felt bad for himself all over again. Avalon could have a lot going for her and he knew he had nothing. He had nothing to offer her. Gideon was right, Van was a lifer on the lake and he knew it. He gave up on college, gave up on moving away, gave up on a lot of things...maybe he should break up with her.

" Come out of your head." Avalon whispered as she placed herself against him. One arm went around to his back while her other one went into his hair. She pulled his head down to place a soft kiss against his lips. " It's going to be fine." Around them the sun was starting to set, casting pinks and oranges through the sky and cooling the hot air around them.

" Maybe he's right." Van whispered as Jason and Flip started to throw rocks into the lake. They were standing on the bank of the lake together while the two friends stood at the edge of the lake. Avalon scratched against the back of his head, making Van start to melt. He loved it when she played with his hair like that, when she scratched against his scalp. His hands went around her to her back.

" It's a misunderstanding, I promise." She whispered. She brushed her nose against his then kissed against his lower lip. She sucked it into her mouth slightly and nibbled against it. " I'll find everything out but it's going to be fine." Van's arms tighten to gently smash her against him.

" Would you two stop it!" Jason snapped when the couple started kissing more. Avalon started to pull away to laugh but Van grabbed at her quickly, keeping her against his lips. He gave his friends the middle finger, making the boys laugh and turn away.

Later in the night, Van walked her home with both of them feeling nervous. Gideon couldn't...he wouldn't...Gideon knew how much Van meant to her and he wouldn't try and screw anything up for her. She would talk to her dad and get everything straighten up. Van wasn't breaking up with her and she wasn't breaking up with him.

" It's going to be fine, you'll see." Avalon said when they stopped just outside her door. She took a hold of both his hands and smiled at him.

" I don't care what he says, I'm not breaking up with you." Van said. Avalon nodded.

" And I'm not breaking up with you. Now go home so I can find out what's going on. I'll see you in the flashlights." She said. Van frowned but dipped down to kiss her hard. Just in case it was the last time he ever got to kiss her.

Because it wasn't going to be fine, Van just knew it. As he ran the entire way back to his house, he just knew that it won't be fine. Nothing was ever fine for him anymore. His dad wasn't wrong and Gideon and Avalon were going to fight about it. She was so carefree in some ways but in other ways she was head strong. If breaking up was what Gideon wanted her to do, then he was going to get a fight. And Van was sure he knew it too. If he didn't, then why would he go to Van's dad instead of going right to Avalon?

Van locked the door of his house after he walked in. He sped through the kitchen, down the back hallway and went straight into his room. He went over to his window and the telescope. He looked through it and at her room but her light was off. Next, he moved it down so he would see into her living room, thanking the Lord for floor to ceiling, all room windows.

There she was and she was yelling. Gideon had his back to the window with his hands on his hips but Van knew he was frowning. Avalon was pissed, throwing her hands up in the air and pacing. Van watched as the father and daughter started to circle each other. He didn't think Gideon would hurt her physically but he knew the father would pull no stops emotionally when he was mad. He won't think twice of cutting her deep with his words.

Avalon suddenly spun around and took off for the stairs. Gideon dropped his hands down and followed after her. Van moved the telescope up to her room at the same time the light went on. She came in with a bag in one hand and her toothbrush in another. And she was still yelling. She went over to her dresser and ripped open the drawers. Van watched as Gideon came into the room and this time, he was yelling too. Avalon stuffed some clothes in her back bag, slammed the drawer shut then fled the room. That was all Van needed to see. He knew she was coming for him. It was his turn to spin around and tear out of his room and house.

Through the warm, lake air Van ran. He ran past the trees, jumping over fallen branches and dogdinglow hanging ones. He pushed leaves and bushes out of his way in his need to get to his girlfriend. Insects called out to him, bats rustled through the leaves above him, the dark surrounded him but he didn't care. He hardly noticed any of it. Harder and harder he pumped his legs.

" Avalon!" He called out when he thought she should be close enough to hear him.

" Van!" She burst out of a group of trees and they ran straight into each others bodies, slamming hard enough to knock the air from their lungs. " It's true! It's all true!" She panted as she held him as tightly as she could.

" We aren't breaking up." Van reassured her. His arms circled her and her backpack. Sweat was wetting hairline from his run and a bead of it was slipping down his face and starting to coat his arms but he didn't care. He needed to hold her close.

" Let's go back to your house, please."

Chad never said anything to them when Avalon stayed the night the few times she did. She slept over at Van's house once or twice a week but as to completely disrespect his dad, they never had sex. They went to sleep feeling satisfied with each other because having oral sex and doing hand play never felt disrespectful and they were quiet about it. Sex was never an option in his bed and they both knew it. But that night, having an orgasm was the farthest thing from both their minds. With her backpack on his desk and Van's back to the wall of his room, they cuddled in his bed together. She was laying in one of his shirts with both her arms under his pillow. She was laying half on her side and half on her stomach so Van had his head between her shoulders.

" I'm sorry." Avalon whispered into the darkness.

" Don't be. It's not your fault he feels that way." Van returned. He brought one his legs between hers and one of his hands to her arm. He pushed up the sleeve of his shirt and started to stroke her skin to help calm her.

" You know I don't think or feel that way." She whispered. She closed her eyes and sighed as his fingertips danced slow, soft circles up then back down her arm.

" I know you don't, Av. Just get some sleep, okay?" He whispered.


	12. Chapter 12

_* Please Review*_

" Van." He lifted his head off Avalon's back and looked towards his door as he started to rub at one of his eyes the next morning. Chad was at his doorway, whispering to not wake the sleeping girl. She was still on her side and he had been sleeping with his head on her back. " She okay?" Van sighed but nodded.

" Yeah." He whispered. His hand moved from his eye to run through his hair while his other arm stayed on the bed to hold his upper body up.

" Okay. Does her dad know she's here?" Chad asked.

" Yeah." Van cleared his throat, trying to push the sleep from his voice so it didn't sound like he had swallowed a box of rocks. " I mean, I think so. I'm sure he does."

" I'll make some bacon and eggs than." Chad said. Van nodded and hoped the shock of what Chad offered didn't show on his voice. Chad hardly ever made breakfast anymore.

" Yeah, thanks, Dad." Van said. Chad nodded then grabbed at his wheels to push his chair back before turning and heading away from his son's room. Van laid on his back, bring both hands to his eyes. He rubbed the heels of his palms into his eyes hard while stretching out his legs. Avalon groaned like she did every time she started to wake up. Van dropped his hands to look at her quickly, lifting his head off the pillow then turned onto his side again and cuddled into her back again. " Hey."

" Hey." She said in a half sigh, half moan while she snuggled deeper into his warm bed. She pulled his blankets around her, keeping her eyes shut. Van lifted the edge of the shirt of his that she was wearing so he could run his fingers over her soft thighs.

" You alright?" He asked.

" Yeah. So I was thinking last night, can we go into town today? I want to go to the office of birth and death records. I want to see if they can pull up my birth certificate over the internet." She said, rubbing her cheek into his pillow.

" Oh yeah, okay." Van whispered.

" Once I have that, I'm getting a job, putting the money aside then moving out." She said. Van blinked as an idea started to form in his mind...an idea he would have thought was impossible for him. A thought about a future he might be able to have. Could he...would he dare...

" I'm going to the same thing. I'm going to get a job. I'll put my money back, we'll get a place together." He said quickly before he could let doubts and fears change his mind.

" Are you sure? What about your dad?" Avalon asked. She shifted under the blankets, making Van lay back on his back. She turned and blinked down at him in surprise. Yeah, he was sure. He could do this. They could get a place close to Chad so he could still help his dad when he needed too. He could prove to Gideon that he wasn't a loser. He could prove it to Gideon and himself.

" Yeah, I'm sure. I know of a few places we could rent. If you want too." He said slowly. Avalon grinned and almost collapsed on his chest, hugging him so tightly that Van started to laugh. " I guess that's a yes."

Avalon showered first then got ready in Van's room while he showered after breakfast. They piled into Chad's car then raced into the town with her on his side of the car, kissing against his neck and giggling. Van's own smile was huge. He was doing it, he was planning for the future. He was finally going to make his own life. Sure, it was late coming, way after all his friends but at least it was happening.

The couple pulled into a parking space in front of the court house and kissed hard and fast a few times before they climbed out of his car. They grabbed hands tightly and started up the wide stair case. After they got her birth certificate, they decided they would go around to the businesses in town and start applying for work. They would apply every where and anywhere. They would work any shift, as long as they had money to live on, they could make it.

" I'm so excited!" Avalon said while they walked through the courthouse and into one of the offices.

" Me too." Van said.

" Van, it's nice to see you." Mrs. Pennyworth said from behind the counter. Mrs. Pennyworth was achubby lady in her fifties who always had a smile and a piece of candy for the kids. She was a lifer in town, her entire family had been for generations and generations. She had grown up with Van's dad and knew Van since he was born.

" You too, Mrs. Pennyworth. So we have a question. Can you look on the internet and pull up a birthcertificate for my girlfriend, even if she was born in another state?" He asked.

" Do you know the city you were born in?" Mrs. Pennyworth asked Avalon.

" Yeah, Detroit, Michigan." Avalon answered with a squeeze on Van's hand.

" Alright, let's see here." The gray haired lady turned to her computer and started clicking away at the keyboard. Van bumped Avalon's arm with his, making her smile and return the jester. He gently kicked at her ankle with her laughing and reaching out to pinch his sides. Van grinned and tossed his arm over her shoulders.

" Stop." Van scolded with a grin.

" Than you stop." She said. He let his arm circle her neck so he could pull her closer to him, pressing his lips to her temple.

" Okay, Sweetie. What is your name?" Mrs. Pennyworth asked.

" Avalon Weathervane." Avalon said, turning her attention to the other woman. Mrs. Pennyworth started typing again but soon a frown went over her face.

" Is something wrong?" Van asked.

" Are you sure that's where you were born? Nothing came up when I entered your name." Mrs. Pennyworth said.

" Yeah. I have seen my birth certificate before. That's the city that's listed." Avalon said with her own frown.

" Hmmm...well not according to their site." She looked back at Van and Avalon. " Listen, let me do some digging around and make some phone calls for you, okay? Meanwhile, you can go to the police station and have your fingerprints checked. In some hospitals, after a baby is born and fingerprinted, they turn over those records to the police to have them saved, you know, in case the baby ever gets kidnapped or something. If the hospital you were born at does that, the police will be able to pull you up, tell us where you were born and we can contact that hospital directly." She offered with her smile back.

" Okay, thanks." Avalon said.

" Yeah, thank you." Van said. He gave Avalon a tug and together they started walking. She put her arm around his waist and snuggled into him. " So the police station is just across the street." Van said as they walked. Their steps echoed off the wide open plan of the courthouse and people were rushing around them. Avalon squeezed him with her arm then used her other hand to take a hold of his hand. They rubbed their fingers together as their hands hung off her shoulder.

" You know, I never thought to look at the hospital I was born at. I hope what she said is right because I really need that." She said, starting to worry.

" Don't worry, Av. Even if we can't find it, the cops maybe able to tell us what to do next." Van said.

Normally, Van shy-ed away from the police. He smoked pot, he drank underage, he knew he was what the cops considered bad news. He ran around the lake, didn't work and didn't have the best friends. To say he was turning to the police for help would have made Jason and Flip laugh. Hell, it made him want to laugh.

" How can I help you?" Officer Wilcox asked after Van and Avalon walked in.

" I need to have my fingerprints taken and checked. The lady at the birth records said the hospital I was born at might have turned over my fingerprints as an infant and if they did, you can tell me what hospital it was." Avalon explained.

" We need to get a copy of her birth certificate and she was born out of state." Van said.

" Oh sure thing. Come with me." Officer Wilcox unlocked the half door to let the couple walked into the back with him. " How is your dad?" He asked Van while they walked.

" He's good, thanks." Van said quietly.

" Good. That's good to hear. I see you guys in town every once and while." But I don't stop and say hi because I don't know what to say, he didn't add but Van clearly heard. A lot of people in town didn't know what to say to them so they just didn't say anything at all.

" Will this take long?" Avalon asked.

" Maybe ten minutes, Miss."

And while the officer guided one of her fingers into the ink, he made light conversation. He asked her name, where she was living and how did she like their small town. He pressed her finger into the fingerprint paper and gently turned it from the right side to the center to the left side again. She answered his questions knowing he was asking partly to be nice and partly to get a feel on the people in town. She didn't mind, small town cops didn't have a lot to do.

While they waited for her fingerprint to process, Van and Avalon sat together and talked. She draped her legs over one of his while she rubbed at her finger to rub off the blank ink. Behind her head, Van noticed Officer WIlcox was frowning into the computer screen. He looked at the couple then at the computer then pulled over his Sargent. Van frowned as the Sargent paled.

" I hope that coffee shop didn't find anyone to work there." Avalon was saying as the Sargent made his way over to them.

" Van, I need you two to come with me for a minute." He said when he close. Avalon looked at her boyfriend then the Sargent. She looked at his name tag then his face.

" Is there something wrong, Sargent Miles?" She asked.

" I just need to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind, Miss." He said. " This way, please." Avalon pulled her legs from Van's and together they stood up. Miles quickly escorted them into a small room and had them sit a metal table, side by side. He sat across from them staring at the two papers he had brought in with him. " What did you say your name is?" He asked with a deep frown.

" Avalon Weathervane." She said, casting Van a nervous look.

" Um hun. And your father's name?" Miles asked.

" Gideon Weathervane." She answered.

" And where do you think you were born?" Miles asked.

" Detroit, Michigan." She said.

" Sorry, Sir, but what is going on?" Van asked. Miles sighed and placed the papers, face down on the desk. He nodded and looked at her for a few seconds before he spoke.

" We find your fingerprints in a database." He said.

" Oh cool, that's great. For a minute I thought something was wrong." Avalon said with a smile. Relief swept through her, making her squeeze Van. Finally, she would get a copy of her birth certificate, her very own copy.

" There is a problem. Your fingerprints do not belong to an Avalon Weathervane. They belong to a girl named Gabriella Gibson. A girl born in Avon, Ohio and reported missing when she was four, fifteen years go." Miles said slowly. Avalon frowned and sat back. Van looked at her quickly then back at Miles.

" What?" He asked.

" You ran them wrong." Avalon said.

" I don't think do, Miss. Gabriella and her mother were taken from her house. Her father returned home from work and found the house a mess and two were gone." Miles said. He flipped over one of papers and gently pushed it across the desk.

" From Avon, Ohio?" Van asked as he suddenly remembered the newspaper article they had seen in her attic.

" You are wrong." Avalon said.

" Please look at this picture of Gabriella and see if that's you." Miles said. She let go of Van and snatched up the page. Her heart leaped into her throat, the temperate in the room shot up and she couldn't breath. Her heart started to pound in her ears. The smiling little girl in the picture...was her. Gideon had a few pictures of Avalon from when she was little, only a few because her baby pictures and everything else had been lost in a fire they had when she was four...

" What is this?" Avalon whispered. Miles flipped over the over picture and pushed it over to her.

" Can you remember your mother?" He asked quietly. Avalon picked it up, feeling shock roll through her. Van looked at the picture then at her quickly paling face.

" Is that her?" He asked. " Is that the woman you have been remembering?" Avalon stared the face, studied it hard. The face that had haunted her dreams for years, stayed in her memories no matter how many more she created. The face that she remembered to belong to the woman she called her mother. The face of the woman she had been told left her and her father.

" What the shit is this!" Avalon yelled, pushing the pictures away from her. " Are you seriously trying to say I was kidnapped? Please! I don't know what joke you are playing at but this shit isn't fucking funny!"

" No, it's not and we need to talk to your dad. You two moved into the old Rowe place, right?" Miles said.

" You leave my dad alone!" She yelled.

" Av, calm down." Van said. He placed one hand on her shoulder and the other on her leg to try and sooth her.

" Calm down! Are you serious!" She yelled. " I am not this girl! Run the prints again!"

" There is no mistake, Gabriella." Miles said gently.

" Avalon! My name is Avalon!" She shouted.

" Is your father at home right now?" Miles asked.

" No." Avalon snapped. " No, he isn't. This was a mistake." She shook Van off her as she started to stand. Van scrambled up off his chair as he grabbed her arm. Avalon's face was completely pale. She was shaking and looked like she was going to be sick.

" Okay, calm down, Ms. Weathervane. We just want to find out what's going on. Why don't I get us some coffee, let you talk to Van alone then come back in and we can sit down and figure everything out." Miles said as he stood up.

" Run the prints again." Avalon demanded.

" Listen, this is what..."

" Run them again!" Avalon yelled, slamming her hands down on desk. Van put his arm around her shoulders and brought his mouth to her ear.

" I'll run them again." Miles promised as the boyfriend started to whispered to the girlfriend. She turned away from the Sargent and wrapped herself up into Van. He started to rub her back while he gave the Miles a quick nod.

" It's not true." Miles heard her say he walked out of the room and shut the door behind him.

" What do we do?" Office Wilcox asked. He was almost excited at the news. Nothing happen in their small town and he craved action. Miles rubbed at the back of his neck.

" We need to speak to this Gideon. Take Nick and go bring him in. This girl needs to stay here and away from him until we figure this out. I'm going Avon police." He said.


	13. Chapter 13

_* Please Review! Warning, I think this is alittle emotional...*_

Gideon stood in his living room with his legs spread and his arms crossed over his chest. He had a cup of coffee in one hand and a frown on his face as he stared out over the lake, right at Van's house. He was pissed. His plan hadn't worked. Instead of Chad telling Van to break up with her, the man had told Van everything he said and then Van had told Avalon. She had exploded when she came home then took off for the laker's house. Gideon was left with only one course of action. He needed to move them again. This time they would move to Washington State because they had never lived there and it rained a lotthere. She would stay in the house because of the rain, not meet anyone new and live across the country from Van. She would be mad and upset at first but she would get adjusted and life would return to normal for them.

As a knock came to his door, Gideon nodded at his new plan. He would start looking for a place for them to rent right away. Gideon turned away from window and started through the living room, crossing the floor in long, powerful strides. He set his coffee cup down a small side table he had. It wouldn't take him long to have everything set. He would find a place, fly him and Avalon out to it then hire movers. The two of them would stay in a hotel until their things arrived.

Gideon pulled up the sleeves of his white thermal shirt while he jogged down the stairs. He frowned as he thought about how angry Avalon was going to be but he would deal with it, like he always did. He needed to remind her that he was the only one who would ever be there for her. He would prove it too, by letting her tell Van where they were moving. She would learn that Van didn't really care for her when he didn't show up to see her. Gideon smirked as he reached out and grabbed the door knob. She would be hopeful that he would come for her, see that he doesn't then turn back to Gideon and they would be happy again.

" Gideon Weathervane?" He frowned when he saw three police officers standing on his porch.

" Yes. Can I help you with something?" He asked. The leader officer, whose name tag said Officer Wilcox, nodded.

" We need to take you down to the station. There is an issue with your daughter, Avalon." Wilcox said.

" Avalon? Is she in trouble? Where is she?" Gideon felt his blood heating. This was not what he needed. He didn't need that trouble maker, Van, getting her in legal trouble. All the more reason they needed to move.

" She's down at the station, Sir. Please come with us." Wilcox said.

" Of course. Let me get my car keys." Gideon started to turn but stilled when the officer grabbed his arm. He looked back at him slowly and tried to control his face and anger. Gideon Weathervane was not a man who liked to be touched by others.

" That won't be needed, Sir. You need to come with us, in my cruiser." Wilcox said. Gideon looked at the other officers who both put their hands on their guns and stood up straighter. " Please."

" I need to lock the house up." Gideon said. " If you don't mind."

" Sure thing but if you are going into the house, I'll need to go with you." Wilcox said. Gideon, again, crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at the officer with a deep frown.

" Excuse me? What is this really about?" Gideon asked.

" We need to ask you some questions in connection with the disappearance of Gabriella Gibson." Wilcox stated.

NRNRNR

One of Van's hands was against Avalon's neck while her forehead was against his collarbone. His fingers were rubbing her skin, trying hard to massage out the tension he could feel laying just under her softness. She had the sides of his shirt bunched up in her hands and was taking slow, deep breaths. Van was staring at the wall behind her while she kept her eyes close. They were standing alone in the room they had been placed in.

" Three times." She whispered. " Three times they ran my prints but I just can't believe it. I can't accept this. He's my dad, he loves me."

" I know." Van said because he couldn't think of anything else to say. He put his arm around her back and held her closer. Shouldn't there be something he could say? Shouldn't he know the words it would take to make her feel better? All he could think about was the newspaper article. She didn't want to believe it, didn't want to believe Gideon killed her mother and kidnapped her but that was the onlyexplanation. As if she knew what he was thinking, Avalon tilted her head up so they could look at each other.

" I'm so much like him. He's artistic, so I am." Avalon said.

" He has brown eyes and you have green." Van said quietly.

" He's stubborn and so I am." She countered.

" He's a shut in but you like to be out and around." Van said. Her face twitched to a frown before she could stop it. Her lips tighten to hold back her emotions.

" He likes classic music and so do I." Avalon said with her voice starting to harden up. Van brushed his fingers against her cheek before he tucked some of her hair behind her ear.

" He's over six foot tall and you're barely five foot." He said. Avalon yanked away from him as anger flashed through her eyes and then her face.

" What are you doing?" She snapped. " Why are you doing that? Why are you pointing out our differences every time I say something about us being alike?"

" The article, Av, remember it? Remember all those articles we found? Remember the memory you told me you had of your mother? What if it's true?" Van said. He reached both arms out to take a hold of her but she took a step back just before he could touch her.

" No. I told you. The doctor said it wasn't real. He said I invented it." She said.

" But do you remember seeing that doctor or do you only know that because Gideon told you?" Van asked.

" I don't like what you're doing! Stop it!" She snapped.

" I'm not trying to upset you, Avalon." Van said. He started towards her again and was surprised when that time, she let him draw her in closely. His fingers gently touched her hands first, the moved up her arms to pull her towards him.

" Well you are!" She snapped again, making him sigh.

" Look, why don't we ask them if we can go out and get some air? We can have a smoke and calm down, okay?" Van asked. Avalon slowly closed her eyes but nodded.

" Yeah." She said.

Avalon let Van turn her so she was facing the door to the room. He hooked an arm around her neck while both of hers went around his waist and, together, they started across the room. She almost melted against him, putting her head into his chest. Their steps were slow as both went into their heads and sank into their thoughts. Why would Gideon kidnap her? How was it that he had managed to hide her all these years? Would she be able to accept it if he had taken her? Would she leave Van for a family she had no memory of? Van found himself frowning as he reached out and grabbed the door knob. She couldn't leave him, she needed him. She needed him now more than ever. Van yanked the door open and they stepped out of the room together. He started looking for one of the officers as she lifted her head from his chest.

" Daddy!" Avalon almost yelled. Van's head whipped around while she pushed away from him. Coming into the station with his hands behind his back and in handcuffs, was Gideon. He was frowning as two officers held his arms. Van reacted quickly. He grabbed her arm to try and stop her from running towards the other man at the same time a few of the cops came at her. " What are you doing! Uncuff him!"

" Miss, we need you to go back into the room." Sargent Miles said as he hurried towards her.

" Fuck you!" Avalon spit out. " Daddy!"

" Avalon, don't." Van said, pulling her back to him. Gideon tugged on one of his arms with his eyes locked on Avalon as a wall of cops came between them.

" Let him go!" She started yelling while Miles side stepped to block her from seeing Gideon. Tears started to burn her eyes and blur her vision. Her heart started to pound at a painfully fast pace. She could feel Van pulling on her, trying to bring her into him but all she cared about was getting to her dad. Miles was gently asking her to return to the room but she would have no part of it. She started yelling more, calling out to Gideon and demanding they let him go.

" Get him out of here!" Miles threw back to Wilcox. Gideon was quickly lead down a hallway and away from her.

" Bring him back!" Avalon said. She threw her hands against Miles' chest and pushed at him hard. "He did nothing wrong! Get him out of the cuffs, now!"

" I can't do that, I'm sorry." Miles said, ignoring how she pushed and tried to get around them. Van pulled her hard, trying to calm her down with his words. Tears spilled out of her eyes as she glared at Miles with complete anger that he could understand. As far as she was concerned, they were the bad guys, not Gideon Weathervane.

" Why are you doing this?! He didn't do anything!" Avalon said with her voice cracking. She grabbed at Miles arms, the fighting starting to leak out of her eyes. " Please! He loves me. He takes care of me. Please." Her lips started to quiver. Her voice went softer. She sagged back into Van while she gripped at Miles' arms. " Please." Miles turned his hands over and took a careful hold of her elbows.

" I need you to listen to me, okay, Avalon? I understand this is hard for you." He said as gently as he could while he looked deep into her eyes. She sobbed and shook her head slowly. " I can't say that I know what you're feeling but I can understand that this has to be hard but I need you to understand that we have a job to do. Your name is Gabriella Gibson and you have a father, a blood related father who has been missing you and looking for you for years. A father who started to cry when I told him that we had found you, alive and well. And right now, that man is boarding a flight from Ohio to come here to see you. He is bring pictures of you and your family to prove all this to you. I am arranging a blood test as well, a DNA test, to show you that Randy Gibson is your father. That man you just saw led away from here, is not your real dad. I want you to let your boyfriend take you back into the room and I need you to let him calm you down. I am going to get to the bottom of this, I swear to you."

" Gideon loves me." Avalon whispered.

" We are going to figure this all out." Miles said. " I need to go and talk to him. Van is going to take you into the room and my officers will bring you anything you need, okay?" He said as he nodded.

" I need my dad." She whispered.

" Come on, Av." Van said. He squeezed her sides and started to pull her back.

" He loves me." Avalon said again but she didn't fight any of them anymore. She let Van pulled her away from Miles. She let her hands slide down the officer's arms but she didn't break eye contact, not even when she shook her head and repeated. " He loves me."

NRNRNR

Gideon sat in hard metal chair with his hands cuffed together in front of him. His jaw worked back and forth as he started at the cold, steel gray table in front of him. His eyes were narrowed and his breath was leaving him in short burst as anger flowed through his blood steam. The door to his left opened then closed but Gideon didn't look up. A man walked around the table and sat down across from him but still he didn't look up.

" My name is Sargent Collin Miles and I'd like to ask you a few questions." He said. Gideon nodded, finally lifting his eyes to meet the other man's. " Who is that girl with Van?"

" She is my daughter." Gideon said.

" No, she's not." Miles said. Gideon sat back as best he could, settling himself and trying to keep calm.

" Yes, she is." He said quietly.

" No, she's not. I have ran her prints. Her name is not Avalon Weathervane. It is Gabriella Gibson. Her father is a man by the name of Randy Gibson. Avalon Weathervane is not a real person." Miles stated.

" Tell me something, Sargent. What makes a father? Is a father the man who fucks a woman and gets her pregnant? You and I both know that doesn't make a father. There are a lot of men out there who fuck women and get them pregnant but do not take care of the offspring. A real father is the one who gets up in the middle of the night when the child has a nightmare. A father is the one who lets her crawl in bed with him when she's sick. A father is the one who baths her in cool water to break a fever, or kiss her cheeks when she skins her knees, or teaches her how to ride a bike. A father is the one who does anything and everything for her, gives her a good life, loves her, teaches her about life, cares for her. I am her father." Gideon said.

" And how do you know Randy wouldn't have done all that for her? You don't because you never gave him the chance." Miles said. Gideon snorted and looked away with a smirk.

" I have given her things and showed her things that most children will never see, will never have, ever." He said.

" You have given her a false life. You took away her mother and real father. You robbed her." Gideon'seyes shot back to the officer's face as his smirk died down. His face darken as he started to lean forward.

" I gave her everything. I am her father." He said quietly.

" Let's talk about her mother. Where is she?" Miles asked. Gideon clamped his mouth shut as his eyes narrowed again. " Do you have her stashed somewhere too or did you kill her?" Gideon sat back and looked away again.

" I want to see my daughter. She was very upset and I'd like to calm her." He said.

" Or course she's upset. Her entire life has just been turned upside down. Everything she thought was true, she just found out is a lie." Miles said.

" And who's fault is that?" Gideon snapped, looking back at Miles. " It's not mine. She was fine with me."

" Where is Gabriella's mother?" Miles asked again.

" I don't know a Gabriella." Gideon countered.

" All your cockiness is going to melt away soon because right now, my officers are applying for a searchwarrant for your house. You would do yourself a favor by coming clean now." Miles said.

" Are you charging me with anything?" Gideon said.

" Right now, I am charging you with the kidnapping of Gabriella Gibson." The officer said.

" I told you, I don't know a Gabriella Gibson." Gideon said. " And I would like to speak to my lawyer. His name is Owen Richardson and don't worry, I have his number memorized."

NRNRNR

" Avalon, Van," Miles said when he walked into their room. The couple was standing across the room in one of the corners, curled up together. Their arms were around each other tight and both had their heads turned towards him. Her head was against Van's chest while his chin was on the top of her head. " Why don't you head out and over to Van's place. There is no need for you to stay here."

" Where is my dad?" She asked.

" We are still talking to him." Miles closed the door before walking into the room more. Avalon lifted her head with a frown.

" I want to see him." She said.

" I'm sorry but I can't let you do that. We have filed a protective order against him so he can't see or talk to you, not until we figure this whole thing out." Miles said as carefully as he could. Avalon turned her face away and buried it into Van's chest again. " We are searching their house but Wilcox can take you there so she can pack a bag. If she can't stay with you then I will get her a room over at the motel."

" She can stay with me. My dad won't care." Van said as he started to rub her back.

" She can only take clothes with her, alright? Wilcox needs to go with you because everything in the house is evidence now." Van nodded slowly.

" My dad's a good guy." Avalon said. " You'll see. You are wrong about him."

" I hope you're right." Miles said but the look in his eyes told Van different. Miles didn't believe he was wrong and neither did Van. He won't tell Avalon but he believed what Miles was saying was true. Gideon had kidnapped Avalon. She was Gabriella Gidson but he wasn't going to say that to her. She needed to feel like she had someone on her side and Van was going to be that someone for her.

" Randy will be landing at the airport in Freeport. One of my men is going to pick him up and bring him to the station. He will be around five this evening. I'll call your dad's house. Maybe if she sees him..." Miles let his voice trail off on purpose but the meaning was clear. If Avalon saw her real father, maybe a memory would trigger inside her. Maybe she would see the truth.

" Yeah okay. We'll be there." Van said.


	14. Chapter 14

_* Please review! I really do feel bad for Gideon. Try and keep in mind that he does love Avalon, in his own way.*_

After Van and Avalon had gone to her house with one of the officers and packed her a bag, they drove over to his house. Van deposited her and her stuff in his room to talk to his dad about her staying with them for a few days. He left her laying in his bed because she didn't want to do anything else. She snuggled into his blankets and closed her eyes before he walked out.

" Can I talk to you outside?" Van asked his dad. Avalon was so upset about everything, Van didn't want her to hear him talk. She had calmed down since leaving the police station and Van didn't want to do anything that might set her off again, so he rolled his dad out onto their porch and away from door quickly.

" Is something wrong?" Chad asked. He watched as his son took a seat in a chair he had pulled up next to Chad's wheelchair once they were ouside. Van took a deep breath, placing his hands on his knees.

" So we went to the police station to have Avalon's fingerprints done and..." Chad listened in shock as Van recounted the entire story to him. His eyes went from Van's face and light brown hair to the bedroom window that over looked the lake, the window to the room the young woman was laying in. He knew there was something off with Gideon, had had a feeling that the man wasn't what he presented himself to be, but never had Chad imagined Gideon was a kidnapper. Never could Chad have guessed the other man could be holding a secret that dark. " Do you mind than, that she stays here until we figure things out?"

" No, no, I don't care." Chad said. " What's going to happen?"

" We don't really know. I guess her real dad is flying in to see her and to prove he's her dad, the cops want to do DNA on her." Van said.

" Will she do it, do you think?" Chad asked.

" I don't know." Van said with a sigh. " But I think she needs too. She needs to understand and see the proof for herself." Chad nodded at the words, showing his agreement.

" How does she feel?" He asked.

" She's upset. You should have seen it when she saw them leading him in. It was horrible, Dad." Van said, looking over to the window. " I didn't know what to say, how to make her feel better. She was crying and yelling. I have never seen her that way before." And for once in his life, Van thought someone else had it worst than him. Avalon's entire life just came to a screeching halt. This was nothing compared to what Van had been going through before she came to town.

" Why don't you see if she wants to go swimming or something? Do something to take her mind off things." Chad said with both men looking at the window. Van nodded as he started to chew on his thumb nail. Swimming with Avalon usually meant she held onto his shoulders while she pressed into his back and he swam them around. It was relaxing for them both and something she loved doing.

" Yeah, that's a good idea." Van said. He sighed before he stood up and took a hold of Chad's chair. He started pushing his dad forward and towards the house when Chad said,

" I've been thinking about working with those fake legs, you know, the prosthetic ones."

" You are?" Van asked in surprise. The prosthetic legs were in Chad's room, still in the box they came in. Chad had never even wanted to look at them before.

" Yeah, I mean we have them so I should try them out and if I can walk again...that would free you up for other things." And giving Van more free time to live his life would be a gift to Van and Chad knew it. He couldn't see his son's face but he hoped the news would make him happy. He deserved a life, a real one, not the one Chad had been forcing him to live for the past few years.

" That would be great, Dad. Me and Avalon have been talking." Van stopped the chair and came around the side of it to grab at their porch door. " We want to get jobs, maybe get our own place sometime. I mean, now that this shit happening, I don't know what's she's going to do but we talked about working and living together." Chad nodded and grabbed at his wheels.

" I think that's a good idea." He said as he pushed himself into the house. Van nodded and felt his heart lighten up. He had been nervous about telling his father their plan. He didn't want Chad to think he was leaving him, like his mother had done but for the first time since before the accident, Van wanted a future for himself.

" Thanks, Dad." Van said, following Chad into the house.

Van hurried through the house as Chad went on into the living room. He went straight to his room and found Avalon laying on her back with one arm stretched out and over on his side of the bed and her other one across her stomach. Her eyes were closed but Van knew she wasn't sleeping. Avalon always slept on her side of her stomach, never on her back. He closed his bedroom door then walked over to the bed. He climbed on top of her, settling his weight down on and smiled. That usually made her laugh. He would get on top of her, slowly lowering his weight down on her, crushing her, while she pretended like it didn't bother her or hurt. He would press into her more and more until Avalon would break and yell for him to get off. She would often try and fight to push him off while Van would laugh at her efforts.

" Hey." Van said quietly. " You want to go swimming?"

" No." She said, bring her arms up to put them around his ribs to let her hands rest against his back.

" You want to go for a walk?"

" No." Avalon said.

" Fishing? Let's do something, Av." She sighed but opened her eyes and looked at him. She rubbed her lips together as she looked from one of his eyes to the next. He was almost pleading with her. He needed this as much as she did. He needed something to do, anything, to take his mind off what was happening.

" Okay, let's go fishing." She agreed.

But only Van fished. He stood on the edge of the dock, holding his fishing line in his hands while she laid on the dock with her eyes shut and her legs dangling off the edge. Under her head was his bunched up shirt. She had one arm flung over her eyes and her other hand was holding onto his ankle. He watched her legs as they slowly kicked back and forth.

" Van?"

He jumped at his name and turned to the side to look back at the top of the dock. Sargent Miles was standing with another man Van didn't know. A man who looked about his height and about his dad's age. A man who was staring at his prone girlfriend with a look of complete longing on his face. His hair was dark with a sprinkling of gray hairs at his temple. His face was scruffy, like he hadn't shaved in days and there were a few wrinkles around his eyes.

" Who is it?" Avalon asked without moving.

" The Sargent." He answered, turning back around. He started to reel in his line as Avalon pushed herself up. She turned to looked back at the two men. The second man looked like he was holding his breath. Avalon looked up at Van as he set his pole down. He reached out a hand to her and helped her to stand as the men started towards them. Avalon let her fingers thread through Van's as they stood side by side.

" Avalon, this is Randy Gibson." Miles said gently. Van felt Avalon press into him more and link one of her legs around his so it was in between both his legs. " He's your...Gabriella's, father." She blinked a few times as she nodded. She squeezed Van's hand hard and covered it with her free one.

" Hello." She said with her voice small.

" Hello." Randy said. " Wow, you look just like your mother." He said with his eyes starting to fill with tears. " I can't believe it."

" I don't know you." Avalon said.

" I know but I brought you something." He held out his hand as he and the officer came to a stop, just in front of the couple. He held out a small photo album. " Maybe if you see some pictures of us all together it will trigger something." Avalon started to hold her breath but she took a hold of the book, never taking her eyes off his face. If he was her dad, her real dad, a man she had spend four years with, she should know him, right? There should something that that sparked her memory, right? " There are pictures of your mother, me, and you from your birth to right before you disappeared."

Avalon let go of Van and looked down at the book. With her hands shaking and her stomach on fire with nerves, she flipped open the cover. Van looked over her shoulder at the first picture. It was of a woman with light blond hair and the man in front of them. She was standing to the side, grinning at the camera with her hands on her very pregnant stomach. She looked...

" She looks like you." Van whispered. " If all your hair was blond."

" It is blond. That same color." Avalon whispered. She turned the next page and the couple was in a hospital bed with the woman looking down at a bundle in her arms.

" I have more pictures back in my hotel room. I just pulled out important ones." Randy said quietly.

The next few pictures were of a little girl at her first birthday, another of her with a dog, then sitting in grass, or sleeping in a bed. Avalon flipped through the photos closely, feeling her heart beat harder and harder. The woman in the picture was the woman from her memories, she couldn't deny that. Avalon had spend her life holding onto the woman's face, holding onto the one thing she remembered of her mother.

_" You like our new truck, Baby?" The father asked as he picked up the small girl and set her on the hood of their bright red truck._

_ " I like that it's so red." She said. " It looks like an apple, Daddy." The father chuckled as he kissed her forehead. " Can I have an apple?"_

" That was the first brand new truck I ever had." Randy said slowly as he watched Avalon run her fingers over the picture of him and her by the truck, a truck he still owed. She was perched on the top of it with Randy's arms around her to hold her. Avalon swallowed and nodded. Van's hands came to her shoulders when he felt her tense. He started to rub her slowly to help relax her.

" Does any of this seem familiar?" Miles asked. Avalon sighed, looked up at the men and slowly shook her head. Randy pressed his lips together and closed his eyes. He drew in a deep, long breath before he opened his eyes again and looked at her.

" You loved that truck. The day I brought it home, the three of us took it to the drive in movie. It was the first time we took you there and you fell asleep thirty minutes into the movie. " Randy said. Avalon shut the book and handed it back to him.

" I'm sorry." She said. " I just don't remember you. I don't know you." Randy nodded with the sadness and stress of the events coming over his face.

" I know you don't, Baby, but I remember you. I never stopped looking for you or loving you." Randy said. Avalon just shrugged slowly.

" I'm sorry." She said.

" It's okay. Keep the book though. Maybe if you look at them more, it will help." Randy said. " I'm staying in the hotel in the town. I can stay as long as I have too. We can do this slowly, get to know each other, okay?" He said gently. Avalon started to chew against her lip piercing as she frowned. " Please, Gabriella."

" My name is Avalon." She said, making him nod.

" Of course, I'm sorry." Randy said.

" We need you to come to the hospital. We need to get a swab of the inside of your mouth for DNA testing. Mr. Gibson has already provided us with a sample." Miles said.

" I'm not sure I want to do that." Avalon said, clutching the book to her stomach.

" I could get a court order for you to do it but I don't want too. We just want to help, Avalon. We just want to get this all sorted out." Miles said.

" Where is my dad?" Avalon asked as she frowned. Randy blinked at the word, letting a tear slip from his eye and travel down his cheek as he stared at her. The pain he was feeling was written all over his face and Van felt bad for him. He was begging her silently, pleading with his eyes and face. That one word had just cut him deep, Van could tell. He sighed and squeezed her shoulders.

" Av." He said. " Look, can we just have some time? I mean, can I bring her in in like an hour?" He asked Miles.

" That would be fine." Miles said with a nod.

" Your mom, she would have loved your piercing." Randy started. He smiled but it was forced and they all knew it. " She loved that stuff, tattoos and piercing. She always wanted have a one but was to scared of the pain. She didn't even have her ears done. She..." His voice dropped off as he clamped his mouth shut and covered it with one of his hands. He closed his eyes and everyone gave him time to gather himself. Avalon felt her eyes start to burn with her own tears as the man in front of her cried silently. He shook his head and wiped at his cheeks before he looked back at her. " She loved you very much." He finished with his voice shaking.

" I'm going to take him back to the hotel. Give me a call when you are on your way." Miles said.

" Yeah, okay. I will." Van said.

The couple stayed on the dock and watched the two men turn and walk slowly away. Randy threw her a few looks over his shoulder as he and Miles talked. The officer placed his hand on his shoulder to offer some support. Avalon took a step back before turning and grabbing her boyfriend. Van wrapped his arms around her at the same time he felt her tears start to wet his shoulder.

" I don't want to do this." She whispered.

" I know you don't, Av, but we need some answers. You do this DNA test and it comes up that Randy's not your dad then we know." Van said. She lifted her head up with her eyes shining even brighter than they usually did. Clear tears were making their way out of the green depths and down her soft cheeks, making Van's chest tighten.

" And if he is?" She whispered. Van was surprised by the question. Was she accepting that Gideon might had taken her as a child? She was accepting that he wasn't what she had thought along? Was everything settling into her now?

" Then we will deal with it." Van promised.

Van and Avalon were driving to the hospital a short time later. He held her hand while she opened her mouth and had it swabbed. It was going to take a few days for the DNA test to come in so they had no other choice but to return to his house and wait. She went back to not talking and Van didn't push her. She needed the silence to gather herself and he understood that.

Van made them grilled cheese sandwiches and he, Avalon and Chad ate them in the kitchen with the guys watching her while she stared at her plate. She broke off little bits of her sandwich, taking her time to chew each bite until it was almost nothing before she swallowed. Chad and Van exchanged a few worried looks but didn't say anything. After they finished eating, Avalon went straight to Van's room and laid down to sleep.

NRNRNR

" Avalon." She jumped at the whisper of her name and opened her eyes, shocked to see Gideon crouched down by Van's bed.

" What are you doing here?" She whispered.

" My lawyer paid for my bail." He whispered.

" How did you get in here?" Gideon frowned and shook his head.

" That's not important. Come with me, please. We need to talk." He said. Avalon looked back at Van but he was sleeping on his stomach with his head turned away from her. One of his arms was under his pillow while his other one was around her waist. She looked back at her dad, trying to shake the sleep from her brain.

" Miles said there was a restraining order against you, that you're not supposed to talk to me. You could get into trouble." She said.

" I know, Sweetheart, that's why we need to sneak out so we can talk. If we wake up Van or Chad or wait until the morning, they will be able to keep us apart. Just come home with me for a bit and let's talk about all this." Gideon urged.

" I have to come back here afterwards. We don't need you in any more trouble." She said as she careful took a hold of Van's arm to lift it off her before she sat up.

" Just come on, Sweetheart. This is all a big mistake and I can prove it." He said. She nodded, pushed the blankets off her then stood up. The father and daughter embraced hard. One of his hands went to the back of her head as crushed her to him. Avalon closed her eyes and held onto him as tightly as she could. This was her father...deep down inside her, she knew it. She trusted what he said. They would talk, he would explain everything to her then to Miles and things would be fine. She felt sorry for Randy, sorry that he had lost his daughter and then came here for nothing, but he was not her father and she was not Gabriella Gibson.

" I love you, Daddy." She whispered.

" I love you too, now get your shoes on." Gideon said.

Together, the father and daughter slipped from the boyfriend's house. With her hand locked up in his, Gideon and Avalon hurried through the woods, under the cover of the darkness. Happiness made her heart light. In the morning, everything would be cleared up and she'd have her father again. In the morning, he would prove that he wasn't the monster they were trying to make him out to be. The DNA test would prove she wasn't related to Randy and they could all carry on with their lives. She and Van could carry on with their plans. Yeah, like Gideon had done her whole life, he would fix things. He would make everything make sense to everyone. That was something she had always admired about her dad, whenever something seemed bad or hopeless, he had the ability to make it all better again. He had always been able to smooth things over and make the world seem right away from her and there was no doubt in her mind that he would do the same thing here


	15. Chapter 15

_* Please Review!*_

Gideon cursed when he and Avalon came upon their house. Bright yellow tape, with the words Police Evidence written up and down it, was taped across their door. He squeezed Avalon's hand while sweeping his other hand down the tape. He ripped it from then pulled his keys out of his pocket and quickly unlocked the door. With a deep, dark frown, he pulled her into the house. He needed to get to the attic and fast.

" Should we be in here? I mean, with the tape on the door, maybe they aren't done looking around." Avalon said as she walked up the stairs.

" They are done." Gideon muttered.

He placed his fingertips against her lower back so she won't stop walking. He had a plan...not one she was going to like but she would understand, he would make her. In the trunk of his car was all the money they had, well over one hundred grand. Upon leaving the police station, Gideon had went to the bank, thankful that it was a bank that was nationally known, and closed out all their accounts. He had enough money to get them to Mexico and buy them a little house in a little known beach town. Some where far away from American justice, Randy Gibson and Van.

" Oh, Dad, look at this place. It's a wreck. It's going to take forever to clean." Avalon said. Gideon looked over his daughter's shoulder as they emerged into the main living part of the house. Drawers had been dumped out. Papers, nick knacks, and books were all over the floor. The couch cushions had been turned over and not put back in place. " What were they looking for?" Gideon gritted his teeth together and felt a muscle in his jaw tense.

" It doesn't matter. We need to go upstairs." He said, giving her a small push towards the stairs.

" Let me get a light." Avalon said, reaching out for the light switch on the wall by the stairs.

" No, don't!" Gideon said quickly, grabbing at her wrist. Avalon looked at him with her own frown and a question in her eyes. " We can't alert anyone that we are together, remember?" He asked. " We will use the moonlight to guide us."

" Okay." Avalon said slowly. She turned around and started walking up the stairs, throwing him a few glances as she did so.

" Go into your room and wait for me. I need to check something and then I will be right in to explain things." Gideon promised.

" Okay but we need to hurry up. Sometimes Chad wakes in the middle of the night and calls out to Van. If he wakes up and sees I'm gone, he'll freak." Avalon said.

" We will be fast." Gideon said.

He gave her shoulder a squeeze before she walked into her room. He almost ran down the long hallway ahead of him. When he reached the end of it, he reached up and grabbed the small string that hung from the trap door in the ceiling. He pulled it down then grabbed at the ladder and yanked it down also. He grabbed at the railings and hauled himself up. He didn't need to go into the attic, just needed to pop his head in. He'd know right away if his secret had been found or not.

Avalon frowned as she walked into her room. Her closet door was wide open and she could tell that they had went through her clothes. Her dresser drawers were open, the blankets from her bed were thrown onto the floor and the drawers in her night stand had been taken out and set on her bed. She shook her head with annoyance on her face. Those small town cops were going to feel like assholes once Gideon cleared everything up.

She sat on her bed, pulling her legs up so she could sit Indian style. She took a hold of her bare legs and waited for her dad. Her eyes shifted down to the tee shirt she was wearing. A smile tugged at her lips. She was wearing a pair of her cotton, grey shorts, small ankle socks, converses shoes that looked just like Van's, and her boyfriend's black Circle Jerk tee shirt. She grabbed at the collar of the shirt and lowered her head down as she brought it up. She closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. He also smelled amazing to her, like vanilla, spices and rain on a hot summer day. She smiled and started to rub her lips against the shirt.

" Okay, Baby," She looked up as Gideon hurried into her room and through the darkness. " you need to grab two bags and throw in as much clothes in those bags as you can and hurry."

" What?" She asked as the shirt slipped through her fingers. " Why?"

" Because we need to leave. We have to get out of here and now." Gideon said. Avalon shook her head with confusion setting in. This was not how she thought things would go. She stood up with a frown, needing to understand what was happening.

" No, why? What is going on?" She asked, standing up.

" Please, just do what I say!" Gideon snapped. " We are leaving!"

" No, Dad, we can't leave. You can fix this. Just...fix it. Just...do it." She said as her father started to pace.

" We are getting out of here! We are driving across the country and going to Mexico." He started saying at the same time she was saying,

" What is going on? What are you talking about? Daddy, talk to me!" She was still shaking her head, reaching out to him then pulling back then reaching again, unsure of what she should do.

" There is nothing else we can do, Avalon! We have to leave all this behind! We can only take what we can fit into bags! This is just shit! Shit I can replace!" Gideon rushed out.

" We aren't leaving! Everything will be fine! I gave a DNA sample!" Gideon's steps skidded to a halt shortly before he rounded to face her with anger twisting his expression.

" You did what!" He roared so loudly that Avalon took a step back. Her bed hit her knees and sent her down to her ass with her eyes wide.

" I...I gave a DNA sample. That guy they are trying to say is my real dad is here. He gave a sample and so did I but it's okay because he's not my dad. You are. The DNA will show that and then everything will be fine." She said. Her voice came out small and quiet, even to her. Her heart started to pound as her stomach dropped. Panic was starting to course into her bloodstream as she took in the look on his face. Could she be wrong? Could he not be...

" Do you have any idea what you have done!" Gideon yelled as he rushed her, making her jump.

" I don't understand why you're mad!" Avalon said. He grabbed her up by her upper arms so hard that she whined. He yanked her to her feet, making her head snap back slightly. " Daddy!"

" How could you have been so stupid!" He yelled in her face. She grabbed at his arms then his chest, clutching at his shirt as he squeezed her arms harder and pulled her in closer to him. She could feel bruises already starting to form, bruises that would be in the shape of his hands and fingers.

" You're hurting me, Gideon. Stop." She said, trying to keep the fear out of her voice. She had seen her dad mad before, had seen him angry with her and others but this anger, this darkness in his eyes, this was something new and terrifying

" Why would you do that!" He yelled, giving her another shake.

" Why does it matter? He's not my dad, you are." Avalon said. She swallowed hard as another round of fear started to take root deep inside her. When he didn't say anything, when he just panted hard and stared at her, Avalon's breath started to leave her body slowly and shaking as her stomach flip flopped. She felt the tempature of her body drop down, an unearthly chill was finding it's way into her bones. " You are my dad." She almost whispered.

" Pack your fucking bags." Gideon said. He said, not yelled. His voice had dropped down and she suddenly wished he was yelling again. She didn't like the dark, low tone he was taking as he glared at her. " We are leaving in five minutes." He released her arms in a shove. She stumbled back, placing her hand behind her to steady herself against her bed so she didn't fall.

" You are my dad, say it." Avalon said as he turned and gave her his back. " Gideon! Say it!" Panic made her voice raise up to a new level. Why wasn't he saying it? Why did he want to leave? " Gideon!" She grabbed at his arm to get his attention but to her shock, to her horror, he flung around and backhanded her so hard in the mouth that Avalon trip and fall onto her bed. A coppery taste filled her mouth as her side hit her bed. She slide down to the floor with one hand on her mouth. She stared up at Gideon as he stared down at her. Never had he ever laid his hands on her. Never in her life had he ever spanked or hit her, not once. He had come close but had always stopped himself...until now.

" You shut your fucking mouth and do what I say. If you had just kept to your fucking self and listen to me, none of this would have happen." He snapped.

" None of what? I don't understand." She said. Her eyes started to burn with unshred tears. Her vision blurred and pain was shooting through her jaw and cheek. She whined as her throat worked hard, swallowing over and over again while she tried not to cry.

" This! We'd be fine if you weren't such a disobedient bitch! Since I took you from that drunk whore, I have done everything for you! I have given you everything and look how you repay me! Look! This is all your fault! We are going into hiding because of you!" He snapped.

" What do you mean you took me?" She whispered as she blinked. A single tear slipped from her eye and started making its salty way down her cheek. He glared as reality slapped her hard in the face, harder then he had slapped her. No, no. no, no! This wasn't happening! " Oh my God..." All the blood drained out of her face as she started to hold her breath. This wasn't real. This wasn't really happening. No, it couldn't be real.

" You are not stupid, Avalon! Put the clues together! You look nothing like me! You act nothing like me! Why do you think I haven't permitted you to get your driver's licenses! Why do you think I refuse you to get a job! Your birth certificate isn't real and everyone would know it! Everyone but the stupid cocksuckers at the schools you have gone too! Why do you think I home-schooled you through grade school! I had to keep you hidden until the heat of your disappearence died down and your looks matured and changed!" Gideon yelled.

" Randy is my dad." She whispered.

" Don't say that shit! I am your father!" He exploded. He yanked a gun out from the waist band at his back and pointed it at her. Avalon jumped and started to cry at once, flinching away from the gun.

" Daddy, stop!" She yelled as she cried harder, turning her face from him and squeezing her eyes shut.

" They could have never cared for you like I have!" He continued to scream. He reached down and grabbed her arm, yanking it away from her face as she tried to shield herself from him. He gave her another hard yank, making her cry out as she sobbed harder. " I saved you! Do you understand me! I save you! Your bitch of a mother was like all the others I have killed! Drunks! All of them! I have done the world a favor by getting rid of them!"

" What are you talking about?" Avalon asked as she struggled to steady her voice.

" Jennifer Morningstar! She started it all! Drunken slut took my wife and child and I made it my mission to rid the world of trash like her!" Gideon screamed. He tugged on her hard again, waving the gun in front of her face and making her whine. " I killed them all! Every time I saw one that looked like Jennifer, I took her and killed her! Then I saw your mother! She was buying wine so I followed her home, fucking drunk! I went into the house because she was too fucking stupid to lock the door and you know what I saw! You! She was going to drink with you in the house!"

" Daddy, please..." Avalon begged quietly. Gideon crouched down in front of her, still holding her arm and the gun.

" You were sitting on the floor, looking like an angel. An angel my Abby was. You looked just like how I imagined she would look at that age." His lips twitched downwards and his chin quivered before he cleared his throat and continued speaking. " I had to save you, Avalon, don't you see that? She was going to drink while she took care of you."

" What did you do?" Avalon asked as they stared at each other.

" As soon as she came into the room and saw me looking at you, I attacked her. I strangled her until she stopped moving then made you a sandwich. I asked you to stay right there and like the good girl you used to be, you listened. So I took her out and put her in the trunk of my car then went back into your house. I packed a bag for you then we left, you, me and her. I buried her like I did the rest and we started our life. The life I was supposed to have with Abby." Gideon said.

" You took me to replace Abby?" She asked.

" I took you to save you. Why can't you see that? I loved you from the moment I saw you and knew I had to take care of you!" He was back to snapping at her again.

The anger was back in his voice and his eyes. The sadness was gone and seemed forgotten by him. The horror of what her life was and the things he had done was starting to turn her stomach. The articles she and Van had found were about the women Gideon had killed. The missing little girl...was her. Everything was clicking into place right in front of her. Bile was raising up the back of Avalon's throat, burning everything on it's way up her body. The life she thought had lived was a lie. Everything she believed in was false. The man she loved above everything was a killer and a kidnapper.

" Gideon..." She started in her best calming voice.

" And now what do you want to do? How do you want to repay me! By running around with a good for nothing laker boy! He's just as bad as the drunks! You think I haven't noticed the smell of pot coming off him and you! You think I haven't noticed when you stumble into here drunk! You think I haven't seen the marks he leaves on your neck! He is nothing! Do you hear me! Nothing!" Gideon yelled.

" Gideon, calm down, please." She urged.

" I am your father!" Gideon yelled.

In one fast, fluid movement, he brought his arm up then slammed the butt of the gun down on the back of her head. Pain exploded through her at once as she slumped down. Her vision fizzled as she blinked and fought with the darkness that was pulling her under. She whimpered and hoped she said his name but couldn't be sure. She thought he was laying her down on the floor of her room, but she couldn't be sure. She couldn't be sure of anything anymore.

" Just sleep, Baby." Gideon whispered as he ran one of his hands through her hair. " Daddy will take care of everything. Daddy will fix everything, like I always do. I love you." He dropped a light kiss against her cheek before darkness completely surrounded her.

NRNRNR

Van frowned and groaned, unsure of what had woke him up. He listened carefully but didn't hear his dad calling out to him. He also didn't feel a soft, warm little body laying next to his. Van turned his head towards her side of the bed and started patting around without opening his eyes. When he couldn't find her, he pushed himself up by his arms and opened his eyes.

" Avalon?" He called out. He sighed, bring a hand to his head. He started rubbing his scalp, sitting up on his knees. " Av?" He asked. He leaned over to look at the floor, frowning when he saw her shoes were gone. " Shit!" He whispered.


	16. Chapter 16

_* Please Review! Sorry it took so long. I had surgery on Friday and have been recovering.*_

Van was running as fast as he could through the woods and towards her house. He was just praying she was there. She had to be because where else would she go? Could she be with Gideon? Before Van had went to bed, after she was already sleeping, Miles had called his house and told Van that Gideon had made bail and was supposed to be staying in the hotel in town. He reminded Van that the 'father' was not allowed to see or talk to Avalon but now she was missing, gone from his bed. She had to be with Gideon. Van didn't think she'd leave him if it wasn't for Gideon.

Soon, her house came into view and, although it was dark, Van knew she was inside. The tape on the door was ripped off and Gideon's car was in the driveway with the trunk up. A few bags were sitting inside it. Van's stomach was starting to hurt. Was she leaving him? Were they going to run away? How could she just leave after everything they had shared? Van frowned and slowed his steps. He needed to talk to her. If she was leaving, Van could talk her out of it and he knew it but he had to do it alone. There was no way Gideon would let him talk to her so Van was going to have to sneak in.

As carefully as he could, Van pushed open the door the house and held his breath to listen. He could hear Gideon moving around but wasn't sure where the other man was. Van silently pushed the door shut then started up the stairs. He knew her house by heart and knew just what stair would make a noise so he was able to reach the center of the house without Gideon knowing. Van quickly looked through her living room and kitchen then dashed behind the couch when he heard someone jogging down the stairs. He crouched down in front of it, watching as Gideon hurried towards the second set of stairs with two bags in his hands. Van waited until the other man opened then closed the front door, before running out and over to the stairs. He knew he only had a few minutes to reach Avalon and talk her out of leaving.

He took the stairs two at a time, reaching the top in seconds. He ran over to her door, seeing her door was partially shut. Van looked down the stairs then back at her door before pushing it open and whispering her name. He expected to see her packing a bag or two. He expected the bag to be on her bed and to see her going from it to her dresser and back again. What he didn't expect was to see her laying on the floor on her side.

" Holy shit!" Van whispered, sprinting over to her. " Av, Avy, wake up." He dropped down to his knees and slipped one hand around the back of her neck, lifting her head up. " Avalon." He leaned down, turning his head so he could feel her breath against his cheek. When he was sure she was breathing and alive, Van pulled away and shook his head. He didn't know what had happen to her but he did know he needed to get her out of there and fast, and without Gideon knowing. Van slipped one arm under her chest and his other one under her knees. He pulled her into him before he started to stand. He needed to make it to her sliding glass door out of her living room and fast. From there, he could run down the stairs at the back of the porch and into the safety of the woods.

" What the hell are you doing?!" Van spun around at the sound of her dad's voice. On impulse, Van drew her in more and took a step back. Gideon filled her doorway and through the moonlight, Van could see his frown.

" What happen? Why is she knocked out?" He snapped, hoping his fear wasn't coming through in his voice.

" She's sleeping. Put her down." Gideon ordered.

" She's not sleeping. She's knocked out. She was laying on the floor." Van said.

" And when did you become an expert on my daughter?" Gideon snapped. Van frowned and tried to force his heart to slow it's fast pace beating. He would not be scared. He couldn't be. His girlfriend needed him to be brave and he would be.

" She's not your daughter." He forced out. Gideon took a step into the room, making Van step back again.

" What did you say?" Gideon asked. Van cleared his throat and took a deep breath.

" We know the truth, Gideon. We saw the articles you kept." Van said, moving towards her bed. " We read the article about the missing girl, she's her, isn't she? She's Gabriella Gibson." He looked down at her face so Gideon won't see the fear in his eyes. He laid her down on the bed, wiping his hands on her blankets to clear away the sweat that was gathering there. He frowned and steadied himself as he looked back at her false father.

" You have no idea what you are talking about. You're just some idiot loser. Now shut your mouth and get out of my house." Gideon snapped. Van quickly reached behind him and under his shirt. He yanked out his dad's gun, one he had brought with him and kept hidden in his waistband. He pointed it at Gideon who threw his hands up right away.

" No, you shut your fucking mouth!" He yelled. " You're the idiot!"

" Just put the gun down, Son. You are no match for me. I am giving you an out here, you should know that." Gideon said, walking into the room more.

" You're giving me a out? I have a gun, in case you don't see it!" Van shouted. " I'm taking her out of here! You aren't going anywhere, you understand me!"

" You say you saw my articles, right? Than you should know that I killed all those women with my bare hands! Now the police know it and in a few days, she will know that she isn't mine! I have nothing to lose now! So you think I'm scared of your little gun!" Gideon yelled back.

" Don't come any closer! I will shoot you!" Van yelled.

" Than do it! Shoot me! And let me tell you what will happen! That little girl on that bed, " Gideon yelled as he continued walking forward. " will hate you for it! It won't matter to her that Randy fathered her because she loves me! In her eyes, I am her dad and you will be the one who shots me so do it!"

Van's finger reacted on it's own. It tighten on the trigger but his arm jolted up and the bullet missed it's mark, lodging into one of the closet doors instead of Gideon. Gideon jumped and covered his head, shocked that the young man had actually fired the gun. Avalon groaned in the bed, making Van look down at her. She blinked her eyes open only to see the gun go flying from Van's hand as he tumbled back, being tackled by Gideon. She groaned again, bring a hand to her head as confusion and a headache from hell rolled through her. She rolled over onto her side as her boyfriend and father started to fight.

" What's...happening?" She barely got out. Her stomach pitched as her head pounded. She closed her eyes and placed on hand on the bed to try and steady her world. Her other hand travelled through her hair to the back of her head. She felt along a small caved in section of her head and knew she had a concussion.

" You should have minded your own business and listened to your daddy! You should have broken up with her!" Gideon yelled.

" Fuck you!" Van hissed up as they rolled across the floor, ending with Gideon on top of him.

" Let him go!" Avalon yelled when she opened her eyes again. " Daddy!" A wave of nausea hit her, making her eyes shut again.

" You did this!" Gideon snapped, wrapping his hands around the young man's throat.

" Gideon!" Avalon yelled, tumbling off her bed to the floor. She landed on her stomach, pushing the air from her body and making her gag.

" Fuck...you." Van managed to get out in a whispered gasp for air. He clutched at Gideon's wrists and kicked his legs. He tried twisting his hips to try and rock Gideon off him but the man was a solid mass on top of him.

" Gideon, stop!" Avalon yelled.

" I'm going to kill you!" Gideon gritted out. He yanked Van up only to slam his head down again. In the background, he could hear Avalon gagging and begging but was completely ignoring her, focusing on the task at hand. He needed to kill this boy then whisk his daughter again. He needed to get them into hiding, that was all that matter now.

Avalon gathered everything in her, pushed past the pain in her head and the boiling, white hot nausea in her stomach. She pushed herself up, spying the gun laying on the carpet. She reached out, slammed her hand down on it hard. She closed her eyes and tried to take in a deep breath through her nose. She would not throw up, not now, not when Van needed her.

Blackness threaten to cloud Van's vision. He swiped one hand up and weakly slapped at Gideon. Gideon was frowning and sweating as he squeezed harder on Van's neck. Van grunted and tried again, willing his hand and arm to work. He swung as hard as he could, barely coming into contact with Gideon's jaw. Gideon lifted Van's head up again and slammed into the carpet. Pain blasted through Van and he felt himself start to slip away. This couldn't be happening to him. This wasn't how he was supposed to die, not on the floor of his girlfriend's bedroom, at the hands of her kidnapper.

" Let him go!" Avalon yelled as she pressed the gun into the side of Gideon's head. Gideon frowned but stopped squeezing Van's throat.

" Put the gun down, Avalon." Gideon said without looking away from Van who started gasping for air.

" No. Let him go and get off him." She snapped. Gideon brought his hands up and turned to face his daughter while he sat on his knees beside the boy. Van scrambled away from him, grabbing at his throat with one of his hands and coughing.

" I let him go now put the gun down and let's talk." Gideon said gently.

" Talk? Are you serious!" Avalon yelled. She and Van grabbed at each other with their free hands, the gun still pointing at Gideon. The couple wrapped their arms around each other with their hands grabbing at one other. Together, with both shaking, they started to stand. Van's throat was burning and he could tell it was bruising up already. " You hit me with a gun and tried to kill Van! What is there to talk about!"

" You know I love you." Gideon said. He hadn't moved from his spot on his knees.

" No, you don't! You love a little girl who isn't me! I was never Abby! I will never be her, no matter much you want me to be!" She yelled.

" Shut your fucking mouth about my baby!" Gideon yelled but still didn't move.

" We need to go." Van said, pulling on her arm as they backed towards her doorway. Avalon shook her head, staring at the man she thought was her father. Tears burned her eyes seconds before they started to fall.

" I loved you." She said.

" Stop this, now!" Gideon snapped.

" You need help, Daddy. I'm going to get you help, I promise." Avalon said.

" Do not leave this room!" Gideon yelled.

" You kill all those women, my mom and you kidnapped me. You are sick." She said as the couple backed away from him with her holding Van's gun in her hands.

" Avalon!" Gideon yelled.

" It's going to be fine." She said as they stepped out of the room.

Van grabbed the doorknob and slammed the door shut. She reached above the door and grabbed at the key they had kept there. Her house was old and all the doors could be locked from outside the rooms. With Gideon yelling from the other side of the door and her hands shaking, she quickly thrust the key into the keyhole and locked the door. Van took the gun from her and tucked it back into his back.

" We need to call the police." Van said with his throat sore. They faced each other quicky and grabbed at once another. Her arms went around his neck while his went around her waist. They started to whisper to each other, making sure one another was okay. Avalon pulled away to grabbed at his face and crushed her lips to his. A second later the door rocked As Gideon slammed himself into it, making them jump.

" Avalon! Open this door, you ungrateful bitch!" He screamed.

" Come on." Van took her hand and together they started running down the hall to the stairs. They were half way down the stairs when shot rang out. They both whipped around in time to see wood from the wall opposite her room splinter away. Another shot rang out before Gideon yelled out,

" I will fucking kill you!"

They didn't waste anymore time. They turned and started sprinting down the stairs with both their hearts beating hard. Gideon fired into the door again and was still yelling and threatening them. Avalon's head was spinning, from the concussion and the shock of the events. In that moment, Avalon knew the man she had known through her life, the man she thought to be her dad was gone and a new man had taken his place. This man was dark and angry and not someone she wanted to mess with.

As the couple hit the door leading to the outside, they heard her bedroom door slam open. They threw open her front door and took off into the night, not yet knowing where they would go. They ran as hard as they could, with their arms still in tangled and their hands wrapped up into each other. The night air whisked past them as they ran as hard as they could, sweat already starting at their hairlines and down their back.

" What do we do!" Avalon whispered.

" Come on! I have an idea!" Van whispered.

" Avalon!" They heard Gideon yell and knew he was outside the house.

Van pulled them in the direction of his old house. As the sound of a car roaring to life hit the night sky, Van knew he had to get them some place safe. Gideon had lost his mind and there was no doubt in Van's that the other man would kill them both then disappear into the night. He knew what he was doing, had spent years hiding his crimes and the girl he kidnapped, he could do it again now. Van wasn't about to let himself or his girlfriend be killed.

They reached the stairs to his house in no time, with both panting from fear and the run. They sprinted up the old, cracked stairs and over to his front door. Avalon grabbed at the back of his shirt as he dug through the pockets of his shorts. He started swearing right away while she looked at the road. Gideon's car could pass the house at any moment and she was scared, for the first time in her life, she was scared of her dad.

" I don't have the keys!" Van whispered.

" What!" Avalon asked in a panic. Another idea hit him. He reached down and snatched up a rock. He stood back up then tossed the rock into the window next to the door. An alarm started screaming out right away, making her jump. " What are you doing! He's going to hear that!"

" Yeah, he is." Van said, reaching through the window to grab at the door's lock from the inside. " And so will other people and they will call the cops. We just need to get inside and hide until they get here."

" Van!" She panicked. He unlocked the door and threw it open, whipping around to grabbed at her again.

" Trust me on this, Avy, please." He begged. Avalon paled but let Van pull her into the house and slam the door shut.


	17. Chapter 17

_* Please Review! Thank you for hanging in there with me! This has been rough but Im getting better! Thank you again for the well wishes!*_

Once in the house, Van slammed and relocked the door, knowing it would only buy them a little bit more time. But every second counted, right? Tires screeched from outside, making Van and Avalon dart through the dining room, around the kitchen to the first set of stairs. With their hands locked up tight, they ran down the stairs, around the landing and down the second set. Van pulled Avalon off to the left and through the darken rooms of his old basement and over to a corner in the back. There were boxes and piles of junk around the basement so the couple crouched down behind some things and wrapped their arms around each other.

Seconds later, the sound of a door being kicked in made them jump and Avalon cried out. Van threw one hand around her face and covered her mouth, while bring his mouth to her ear, whispering and urging her to be quiet. He sushed her with his breath a hot bust against her skin. She grabbed at his wrist with one hand and his shorts with the other. He pulled her back and in between his legs.

" It's okay, just be quiet." Van whispered over and over again. " It's going to be okay."

Gideon stood in the doorway of the house with a frown on his face and sweat coating his hair. He looked to the wall at his right, glaring at the alarm system as it blared out it's cry for help. He looked back into the dark house, rage having completely taken him over. His body started to shake with the anger. His hand gripped at the gun he had brought with him until his knuckles blanced. In a swift, fast movement, his arm came up. He smashed his elbow into the alarm system, silencing it at once. His muscles tensed hard.

" Avalon! It didn't have to be like this!" Gideon's yell echoed through the house, reaching the couple in no time. Tears slipped down Avalon's cheeks to wet Van's hand as they hid together. He slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her back to his body more. She held onto him tighter, still in shock at the events of the night. Her dad, the one who wiped her tears in the middle of night, held her when her first boyfriend broke her heart, had hit her with a gun and knocked her out. The man who taught her how to ride a bike with no training wheels and taught her how to swim had tried to kill her boyfriend. Her brain was reeling with disbelief. " This is your fault! We could have just left and started over but now it's all ruined! And for what! A stupid, useless laker who will never do anything with his life!"

" Someone called the cops. They will be here soon." Van whispered. Avalon nodded slowly with her nails digging into the skin at his wrist. " It's going to be okay." Her hand opened then closed again on his shorts. He squeezed her to comfort her, pressing his lips against the soft skin under her ear before he continued to mutter to her.

" You have ruined everything! For a boy! A stupid boy! You could have had everything and anything you wanted! Now it's all over!" Gideon yelled.

" He's in the kitchen." Van whispered. He pulled her back and into the dark more. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried hard to control her crying. Her stomach jump as she sob. Her chest heaved as it rocked through her. How had her life come to this? How did her dad go from a loving father to a killer who was now hunting her down in the darkness? Where had things gone wrong? Nothing in her life would ever be the same again, even if they got out of the house alive. Life as she knew it...was over.

" I loved you!" Gideon yelled. " I saved you! I gave you the life that was taken away from my baby! You ungrateful bitch! Abby would have never done this to me! Never! She would have never wanted to leave me for a boy! Thank you, Daddy! That's what she would have said! I will never leave you, Daddy! That's what a good daughter says!" Gideon rounded the steps and frowned. He looked down over the railing and turned around and looked into the empty living room. " I will find you and when I do, I have no choice but to kill you! Do you think that's what I want! Do you think that's a choice I am happy with now! No! But there is nothing else I can do!"

Van's legs tighten around Avalon's sides as they stayed crouched together. She couldn't do this. She couldn't stay in the dark, crying and hiding from Gideon. There had to be something of the man she had known left in him. There had to be and she was sure she could bring him out and save them all. He was just sick, he just needed help. What kind of daughter...person, was she if she didn't get him help? She took a shaky, deep breath through her nose then pulled Van's hand away from her mouth.

" I have to go out there." She whispered.

" Are you fucking crazy! He's got a gun! He said he has to kill you!" Van hissed. She turned between his legs and grabbed at Van's face. Keeping her eyes shut, she brought her face in close to his. His breath brushed across her cheek as his hands came to her ribs. " You can't go." He whispered in the a plead.

" I have to go. He won't hurt me." She whispered

" Baby, listen to me," Van said quickly and gently. " he's a killer. He killed those other women, your mom. He tried to kill me. He's lost his mind." Van's voice was changing and there was nothing he could do to stop it. It had lost it's calming, reassuring whisper as more and more fear leaked into it. He knew he was pleading with her but he didn't care. She needed to understand this was not the Gideon she had known. This was someone else.

" It's okay." She whispered before pressing her lips against his. " Just let me talk to him."

" No! No, Avalon, stay here!" Van whispered even though she was already pulling away from him. He grabbed at her quickly, his eyes flying open. His hands tried to close around her arms, needing to keep her with him. Desperation was starting to take him over. She had to stay with him. They just needed to stay where they were and quiet until the police arrived. If she left him, Gideon would find her and kill her. Van couldn't lose her, not her. Not the first good thing to come into his life since before his dad's accident. He needed her too much to lose her now.

" I'd be okay." She whispered, pushing his hands away from her. Her fingers squeezed his and then she was gone. Van's hands grabbed the darkness. He cursed and stood up quickly, listening to everything. He patted around in the darkness, jumping when his hands landed on a VCR.

" Avalon!" Gideon yelled from his spot on the landing.

" I'm right here, Daddy." Avalon said. She stepped out of the basement and stared up at him from the bottom of the stairs. Gideon's arm shot up as he took aim at her with his gun. Avalon blinked but refused to jump in fear. She needed him to see her as he always did, as a strong young woman.

" What are you doing down there?" Gideon asked.

" I was hiding. You scared me, Daddy." She said. Gideon frowned and shook his head.

" You betrayed me." He said.

" You hit me with your gun and tried to kill Van." Avalon said. " I got scared."

And so was Van. Gideon had lost his mind, why couldn't she see that? He understood that she looked at him like he was her father and she loved him, but Van loved his dad too and could admit that he wasn't the man he used to. Van knew the moment his old dad had left and his new dad had taken his place. As Van listened to Gideon and Avalon, he crept through the dark room, gripping the VCR in both hands. He really didn't want to shot her dad, didn't want to kill him but he knew he had to do something to protect his girlfriend. If he could just buy them enough time to get them outside, they could hide in the woods until the police arrived.

" Why didn't you just listen to me!" Gideon yelled. " You have ruined our entire lives!"

" I know and I'm sorry but there is still time for us to leave. We can sneak out of the back door behind me, get in the car and drive away." Avalon said. Gideon's arm faulted a second before he started to lower it. She nodded and held her arm out to him. " Please, Daddy. I don't care about that other guy, Randy, I don't even know him. I don't remember him. There's only you. I only remember you, I swear. I was so self when it came to Van. I should have listen to you. You have never given me bad advice before. I don't know what I was thinking or doing. I guess I was just caught up in having a boyfriend."

" You were stupid." He snapped, making her nod.

" I was and I'm sorry." She agreed. " But I can see that now and it won't happen again, I promise. You are right, you have always given me everything and I was ungrateful." Gideon sighed but tucked his gun into his waist before he started down the stairs.

" You will do what you are told from now on. No more boys, do you understand?" Gideon said. " We need to go to Mexico and you will not talk to Van anymore. You won't call him or anything. You won't even think about him."

" I understand." She said as she nodded her head again.

Her throat threaten to close. Her eyes started to burn again. She did love Gideon and things would never be the same between them but she had to make him think differently if Van had any chance of getting out of there alive. She would go with Gideon, disappear into the night with him then start planning her escape. She would leave him as soon as she could. That way, Van would live, she would be free and Gideon won't have to spend his life in jail. He was a bad man who did horrible things...but he was her father. He was sick, not evil. Yeah, she would leave with him tonight but as soon as they stopped to rest, Avalon would leave. She would contact Miles, come back to Van and Gideon could live his life out in Mexico.

" I'm serious, Avalon. No boys. You see what trouble this one has caused us?" Gideon said. She nodded and took a step back as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

" I understand." She said.

" Where is Van?" Gideon asked.

" Right here!" Van snapped at the same time he stepped out from the room. He swung the VCR he had been holding as hard as he could, hitting the other man in the face. There was a sickening crunch a second before Gideon groaned and fell back. " Let's go!" Van grabbed Avalon's hand again. They both whipped around quickly. Van grabbed the door knob and threw it open. " Run!" He yelled as they took off.

Gideon's head spun then pounded as stars burst out through his vision. With one hand shaking, he reached up and touched his nose, knowing right away it was broken. Hot blood poured down his skin and leaked into his mouth. He spit hard, letting the spittle and blood mix as it dripped off his chin. He pushed himself up with one hand and took aim with the other.

" Avalon!" She looked back at a shot ring out. Van felt her crash into him hard. He stumbled but turned to see the flashing red and blood lights from the front of his old house. Sirens were screaming into the night air and Van felt a rush of relief. They were saved. The police were there and Gideon won't be able to hurt them anymore.

" Van." Avalon said as she turned back around to face him. She had a hand pressed into the left side of her body. Her eyes were wide as she pulled the hand away.

" Oh shit." Van whispered as blood dripped from her fingers. She looked up at him in complete shock before her eyes rolled back and her knees gave out. Van grabbed her as fast as he could. " Help!" Van yelled out as they sank down to the brush. " Someone help us!"

" Van!" He heard Miles yelled out.

" Freeze! Gideon Weathervane, dropped your weapon!" Another officer yelled.

" Help, please!" Van yelled, looking up towards the hill as some officers surrounded Gideon and others ran towards him. Van looked back down at Avalon as she half coughed, half gagged. Dark red blood started to bubble up and out of her mouth as she stared up at him.

" He...shot...me." She whispered.

" I know, hang on! Please! They are here! Help is here!" Van was saying quickly. He pressed one of his hands over her wound, looking back up as Miles reached them. " She's bleeding! She's been shot!"

" Keep her talking!" Miles yanked a walkie talkie out from his belt and barked orders out for an ambulance while he came to his knees.

" Avalon!" Van yelled, looking back at her.

" Keep pressure on the wound!" Miles ordered. " Avalon, sweetheart, I need you to talk to us. You're going to be fine but you need to keep talking. Tell me how he managed to keep you hidden all these years."

" We...moved." Avalon turned her head away from Van and started to cough again, whining and crying as more blood coated her tongue, the taste of old pennies filled her senses. She spit then closed her eyes and turned to face Van.

" Sweetheart, open your eyes." Miles was ordering but his voice was fading out.

Avalon sighed and looked at Van. She thought she smiled but couldn't be sure. He was talking, she thought. There was no sound coming out of his mouth even though his lips were moving. She closed her eyes again and marveled at how the sharp, burning pain she had felt before was fading and fading fast. She jolted hard suddenly. Avalon groaned, opening her eyes again. Why couldn't she hear what Van was saying? Was she dying? Where was Gideon?

Her eyelids were growing heavy again and this time, she couldn't stop it. She let them close, whining when Van shook her again. Why did he have to do that? She frowned as weights settled on her arms and legs. This was heaven. No pain, no gun shot sounds, nothing but blessed sleep and she was going to welcome it. She needed to welcome it. She was tired and she just couldn't fight it anymore. She knew she was supposed to but for the life of her, she couldn't remember why.


	18. Chapter 18

_* Please Review! So there is only one more chapter to this and thank you to everyone for hanging on with me. I think I will be launching a new TWD story soon*_

" Van."

His head snapped up at the sound of his name in his dad's voice. He was being pushed by Miles down the hospital hallway, with Randy walking beside them. All three men looked worried and scared. After Avalon had been transported to the hospital and Gideon had been arrested, an officer brought Van to the hospital and Miles had promised to go and pick up his dad. Now, Van was sitting in a chair in one of the waiting rooms, waiting on anything and everything he could get from the doctors on Avalon's condition.

" Dad." He said, placing his hands on the chair arms and pushing himself up. Van's eyes travelled down his dad's body to his legs and to his surprise, Chad was wearing shoes which had to mean..."Dad?"

Chad put his hand up, causing Miles to slow his pace until he stopped walking altogether, a few paces away from the son. Chad reached down and clicked on his brakes before he pushed up the pedals of the wheelchair. He set his feet down on the floor, staring at his son hard. Van frowned and bit down into the inside of his bottom lip. Chad stood up slowly then grunted but started forward.

Tears started to burn at Van's eyes as his dad shuffled towards him. This was it. This was Van's breaking point. So much had happen to him in the last twenty-four hours that seeing this was it for him. Van closed his eyes, his shoulders started to shake and he let the damn break. He let his emotions take control and let the salty wetness slipped down his cheeks. He didn't even try and stop them. He didn't even try and stop his sobs from taking him over. He covered his face with both hands and let the tears fall.

" I'm sorry." Chad said as he reached him.

He put his arms around his son's shoulders. Van grabbed at his dad with his arms around his waist. He buried his face into the strong, comforting shoulder of his dad and let his tears flow more freely. Chad rubbed Van's back with both hands, repeating over and over again how sorry he was and he meant it. He was sorry for everything. He was sorry he had had the accident, sorry that Van's mother had left them, sorry he had checked out for so long, and made his son have to be the man of the house. He was sorry he hadn't stuck up for his son to Gideon when the man had said all the things he had about Van. He was just so sorry and Van knew it.

" How is she?" Randy asked quietly. Van pulled his head away from his dad and used both his hands to wipe away his tears.

" I don't know." He said after taking a deep, shaky breath. " The doctor hasn't come out yet. What's going to happen with Gideon?" He asked, turning his attention to Miles as Chad continued to rub his back. His dad had moved to his side so he was facing the other two men. Van sighed and wanted to sagged into his dad but didn't. He didn't want to throw him off balance. This was the first time Chad had ever used his new legs and Van wanted him to feel like he was steady and strong on them.

" Well, he's not talking but we can still hold him. He did shoot her and he violated his restraining order so there will be no bail this time. I need to get a statement from you on what happen though, how you guys ended up at your old house." Miles said.

" He admitted that he kidnapped all those women from the articles. He admitted that he kidnapped Avalon and killed her mother." Van said quickly.

" And you are willing to testify to that? Will you make a statement, stating that and sign it?" Miles asked.

" Yeah. In a heartbeat." Van said with a nod.

" For the family of Avalon Weather?" A doctor asked when he walked into the waiting room.

NRNRNR

" I don't like jello and I'm sick of eating it." Avalon snapped. Van shook his head with a frown.

" I don't give a shit. Eat it." Van snapped back. He was sitting on the bed, in between her legs with his own legs on either side of hers. One of his hands was on her thigh, rubbing it through the blanket while his other hand held a spoonful of green jello up to her mouth.

" Van, no. I don't...ahhh." Her words were cut when he jammed the spoon into her open mouth. He grinned then laughed when she coughed and almost chocked. She scooped up the jello that slipped out of her mouth and stuffed her fingers into his mouth while she pinched his inner thigh. He jumped in surprise and at the pain. Avalon tried not to laugh as she chewed then swallowed the soft snack down.

" You have to eat more." Van said as he chewed. " You want to come home, right? The doctor said if you started eating more, you could come home. You're off the oxygen now, all healed up, you just need to eat more." She nodded, dropping her eyes down to her plate that was sitting between them. She picked up the sandwich he had brought for her and broke a piece off.

" I'm trying." She said, looking back at him.

" Try harder." Van said as he leaned in. " Please." She smiled but gave him the kiss he was silently asking for. " For me."

" I will. I promise." She reassured him. She held up the piece, winking at him when she did. He let her feed him the bite then pointed down to the sandwich.

" Eat it." He said. She rolled her eyes and sighed loudly.

" Fine!" She explained.

" So listen, I finally finished moving all your clothes and books and notebooks into my room and Miles told me that they are releasing all that money Gideon had taken out of his bank account and they are giving it to you. Do you want me to rent a storage unit for your bed and shit?" Van asked as he watched her bring the sandwich up to her small mouth.

This was not a conversation he was looking forward to having with her. Since she had been in the hospital, recovering from the gunshot, blood lost and lung damage the bullet had caused, they had managed to not talk about Gideon. She knew he was in jail, Miles had informed her of that as she soon as she was awake but she and Van hadn't spoken about anything related to him. Van had offered to move some of her things to the house he shared with his dad but that was all they had spoke about life outside of the hospital.

" Um, well, I have been thinking about that." She admitted before taking a bite of the chicken salad sandwich. Van nodded and waited. She met his eyes, turned the sandwich towards him and smiled while she chewed. Van leaned forward and took a small bite. She reached out and wiped a bit of the chicken salad off the corner of his mouth as she swallowed. " He had a lot of money in those bags and Miles said the landlord to the house released us from the lease and is giving me back the money that was paid in advance so maybe we should look for a place of our own."

" You serious?" Van asked when he swallowed his own bite. She nodded and became to play with the food, something she did when she was nervous. She pulled at a corner of the bread before slipping it between her lips.

" Yeah. I mean, there's so much money there that we could live off it for a long time before we have to get jobs." She said quietly. " We can keep some his pieces and sell off what we don't want, like everything from his room. I don't want any of that. Miles said that Gideon signed everything over to me so I'm going to sell his car and some of his other stuff and put it into another account for his lawyer fees. After that, I'm not having anything else to do with him. So we can get a place and get us a car." She tilted her head and looked up at him through her lashes. " Then you can teach me how to drive. If you want."

" Yeah, that would be cool." He said with excitement settling in his stomach. This was it, it was finally happening, his life was finally starting. " And I don't have to look for a job, I got one."

" Are you serious?" Avalon asked with a bright smile that he loved to see.

" Yeah. I got a roofing job." Van said. He placed his fingers against one of her hands, and raised it up so the sandwich went to her mouth, give his chin a tilt towards her mouth. Avalon smiled and gave him a small laugh.

" What about Chad?" She asked before taking her bite.

" He's been doing really good with the legs and since I have been here so much, he is doing more and more for himself. He actually smiled when I told him I got the job." Van said. Avalon nodded and turned the sandwich again. " I didn't bring you that sandwich to share it." He said before taking his bite.

" Knock, knock." They looked over to the door as Randy knocked on it before he walked in with a smile. "How are you today, Sweetheart?"

" I'm good." Avalon said. Every day Randy had been coming to see her and spending most of the day with them. The DNA test had come back and confirmed that she was his daughter so Avalon was making an effort to get to know him. She knew she would never call him Dad but she didn't want to push him away. He was her only tie to something real when it came to her past.

" That's good. Guess what I got today? Your birth certificate. And I brought more pictures of your mother." He said, coming toward her bed holding his hand out to show her the pictures and the paper.

" Oh cool. Thanks." Avalon said.

" Finish eating." Van said, giving her hand a little push and making her laugh.

" Are you eating more?" Randy asked.

Randy took a seat in the chair by the bed and the three of them started talking while Avalon ate. Van refused anymore bites from the sandwich, which made her laugh. They looked over the pictures Randy had brought and listened as he explained what was going on in front of them. Some of the pictures triggered memories in her, memories of her mother and even a few with Randy in them. Van watched and listened to them talk, tapping her hand when he thought she had forgotten about the sandwich.

" Well, I have something to tell you." Avalon said after she was finished eating. The couple looked at each other with Van smiling and rubbing her thighs over the blanket. Avalon smiled back and nodded before looking back at Randy. " I have decided to keep the name Avalon. It just seems right to me. I just can't imagine being called Gabriella." Randy nodded as he sat back in his chair.

" I understand. I didn't expect you to take back your name." He said. Van continued to rub one of her thighs while he fingered at his lips with his other hand. He pushed the corner of his lip in between his teeth and started to chew against it while he watched her talk.

" It's just, in my memories of you and my mom, I don't remember you calling me that. In my mind, I have always been Avalon." She said. Van dropped his hand down and looked back at the other man.

" I tried calling her Gabriella a few times but it didn't feel right to either of us." He explained.

" I understand." Randy explained.

" According to Gideon, I didn't have a middle name so Officer Miles and a judge in town are pushing through a name change for me." Avalon said. " My name will now be Avalon Gabriella Gibson. I hope that's okay." Van squeezed her when he felt her start to tense up. This had been a hard choice for her. She didn't want to carry on Gideon's last name anymore but couldn't give up the name of Avalon. Like Van had said, they had tried calling her Gabriella and it just didn't sit well with them.

" I love that." Randy said with a smile. " I really do and I can work on calling you Avalon."

" Oh good, you're all here." Miles said as he walked into the hospital room. " I have some news." He walked over to the side of her bed, making Van shift so he could look at him. Avalon touched his hand and he knew she needed comfort. He quickly opened his fingers and allowed them to tangle with hers. Their palms flatted out to press against each other as they waited for Miles to continue.

" Is he talking yet?" She asked quietly. Since Gideon had been arrested, he had completely stopped talking, save one time when he asked Miles how she was doing. He refused to answer questions and won't talk to his lawyer, no matter how much the man tried to get him too.

" He is. He is going to plead not guilty to the missing women he has the articles on but we are pressing charges against him with them and I hate to tell you this but we will need you two to testify since he confessed to you." Miles said. Van nodded, looking back at Avalon as she looked at him.

" We can do that, right?" He asked, giving her hand a small squeeze. She sighed but nodded slowly.

" Yeah." She said. She didn't want too. She didn't want to see him again...well that wasn't true. She did want to see him. She hated that she felt that way but she still loved him. It was hard for her to not think of him as her father and to know he won't be in her life anymore.

" Has he admitted to taking Avalon?" Randy asked.

" He actually did. He won't admit to doing anything to your wife," Miles started while looking at Randy. His eyes shifted to Van then to Avalon, " but he does admit to kidnapping Avalon, today, actually. He said he moved you two around so much to keep you hidden."

" So what does that mean for the trial?" Van asked.

" Well, it means, he has agreed to plead guilty to her kidnapping but not guilty to everything else. We do need her to testify to what she remembers from the day she was taken and the DA will go over all that with you." Miles said.

" I might be able to get him to talk." Avalon said, pulling all three sets of eyes to her.

" Is that really needed?" Randy asked, looking back to Miles.

" It might help, actually. He might be more inclined to talk if it's with her." The officer confirmed.

" She might be getting out of the hospital tomorrow, if she eats more." Van said. " I could bring her over to the police station then."


	19. Chapter 19

_* Please Review! Okay, so I don't usually get emotional but this last chapter had me tearing up. I really tried to put myself in Avalon's position and tried to think, how would I feel? What would I think? Thank you for sticking with me for this story! I think this movie is one of my favorites of his movies. And if anyone knows where I can watch Hello Herman and Pawn Shop online for free, let me know where. Id like to do a story for them...of course*_

A few days later, Avalon was sitting in a cold metal chair at dark grey table inside an interrogation room inside the police station. She looked across the room to the two way mirror. She gave her reflection a small wave and a little smile, knowing her boyfriend, his dad and her biologically dad were just on the other side, watching her. In her mind, she could see Van smiling and was taking comfort in the knowledge.

Things between them had been great. Since she had been released from the hospital they had been busy. Van had rearranged his room to make room for her and her things, they had looked through the paper for apartments and had even made a few phone calls to see some. Against what Van wanted, they had went to her old house and started looking through the different pieces there. She had been going through it, picking out what she wanted to keep and what she wanted to either give away or sell, making sure she stayed away from Gideon's room. Van had closed the bedroom door so she didn't even have to look in it.

" I'll take care of that shit." He promised her as he rubbed her shoulders.

She was going to donate everything in Gideon's room, his clothes, his shoes, his bedroom set, everything and when she was ready, Van would pack it all up and take it to the Goodwill so she wouldn't have to see or touch anything. She was still hurting over losing him even though she was trying to put on a brave face. Gideon was, after all, the only dad she really knew and she had a lot of loving memories tied to him so Van wanted to try and make things as easy for her as he could.

And to his surprise, his dad had been the same way, wanting and trying to help her and them in anyway he could. Chad had been cooking for them, sitting out of the dock in the evening to fish with them, and even sharing stories of Van as a child. He had promised to help them find their own place and had went with the couple to look at cars. Just the day before she was due in the police station, Chad had taken Avalon out in his car to try and teach her how to drive in an emtpy parking lot while Van had sat in the grass and watched them with Randy.

She was pulled from her happy thoughts when the only door to the room opened. Her stomach shot up and into her throat as she watched Gideon being lead in by Miles. His wrists were handcuffed in front of him with a chain leading down to and connecting with the shackles at his ankles. His bright orange jumpsuit was slightly to big for his frame and his once clean shaven, smooth face had a dusting of salt and pepper facial hair on it. He was frowning with anger flashing through his eyes. She swallowed hard then started to hold her breath.

Miles lead Gideon over to the chair that was on the other side of Avalon. Once Gideon was sitting down, Miles unlocked his wrists and then his ankles, gave Avalon a wink, then left the room to give them some space. Space, not privacy. Both knew they were being watched and recorded and both knew that if need be, at any moment, the door would fly open and officers could, and would, fly in with their guns raised.

" How are you?" Avalon asked quietly.

" I'm in prison, Avalon. How do you think I'm doing?" Was his chipped answer. Avalon grabbed at her hands, keeping them tightly together and under the table so he wont see them shaking.

" Yeah, well I just got out of the hospital after you shot me." She said, fighting to keep her voice calm. Gideon sat back in the chair and glared at her. Avalon was shocked at the look in his eyes and on his face. There was no love coming from him as she studied his face. He looked like the man she had loved and learned from but then again, he didn't.

" Where is my mother?" She asked. He snorted and looked away.

" So this is their new tact? Bring you in to make me talk?" He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

" Daddy," Avalon made sure she soften her voice in the way that had always pulled at his heart. "Where did you take her?" Gideon clamped his mouth shut and furrowed his brow. A muscle in his neck twitched and she knew he would break for her. She knew in that moment, she had him. Gideon was a bad, bad man but he loved her and wouldn't be able to resist her. " If you just tell them what they want to know, than I wouldn't have to come to court." His eyes shot to her face but he still didn't say anything. His own face started to relax as he took slow and deep breaths. " If you don't, I'm going to have to testify and I don't want to do that. I don't want to testify against my own dad."

" Do you really think this is going to work?" Randy asked the room as they watched and listened.

" It will." Van said, crossing his arms over his chest and bring one hand to his lips. He fingered and pulled at his bottom lip a few minutes before he started to chew on the left of them without looking away from his girlfriend's face.

" They want you to testify?" They heard Gideon asked. Avalon nodded slowly. They heard Gideon sighed a second before he placed his hands on the table. He pushed himself up, gave her his back and started walking towards the mirror.

" I don't want too but I don't have a choice." Avalon said. Gideon didn't stop walking or say anything until he reached the mirror. He placed his hands on the frame and stared. They watched as his jaw worked back and forth. His eyes tensed then relaxed, then tensed again. " Daddy, please."

" If I talk, will you keep her out of court?" Gideon asked. Miles reached up to the monitor and pressed the talk button.

" If you tell us everything and plead guilty to all charges." He informed the false father and daughter. Gideon nodded and turned around slowly. It was Avalon's turn to squeeze her lips together. The last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of him.

" I used to be different." He started. " I was a different man before my child and wife were taken away from me. After they died, I was just so angry I couldn't even think straight. I had to kill anyone that reminded me of HER but then I saw you." Tears burned at Avalon's eyes as he stared hard at her. " I saw you, staring at me with my baby's eyes and for a minute, I thought I could start over, in you. I thought your mother would be the last woman I would kill. I planned on taking you and raising you as my own." Avalon blinked, sending one tear down her cheek at the same time Gideon started to shed one. " You were so beautiful." He almost whispered. " And you just stared up at me with such trust. I thought, this is it, this is God giving me a second change."

" Where is she?" Avalon asked with her voice shaking. Gideon cleared his throat and started back towards the table.

" I knew I had more money than your parents. I could tell by looking around at their tiny house so I thought you'd be better off with me, that I could give you things that they couldn't so when your mother came into the room, I attacked her. I strangled her to death, right on the floor of the kitchen while you watched from the table. You started to cry so I picked you up. Being so young, you just held onto me with everything you had."

" Gideon." She said, only this time, she was stronger. She was not going let him control her with emotions.

" I set you back down and made you a sandwich. You asked why your mommy wasn't moving and I told you she was sleeping. While you ate, I loaded her into my car then I went to your room. I grabbed some of your clothes and stuffed animals then I came for you." Gideon pulled out his chair and sat down so he was across from her again, never breaking eye contact. " I left town with your mother in the trunk of my car and you sitting beside me. I drove until you fell asleep then I pulled off onto a dirt road I had seen earlier. I buried your mother in a wooded area about ten miles from your town."

" And you kept killing." She said.

" Not for a few years. For our first few years together, things were fine. The world was different than so your disappearance didn't make the national news and we were living on the other side of the country. I thought my blood lust was over, that my anger was cured and then you started to talk about your mother and what had happen." Gideon said.

" So you told me it was false memories." Avalon filled in.

" I did. I convinced you that I had talked to a doctor and the doctor said you were making it up to comfort yourself and you believed me but I was angry all over again. I was pissed that your mother made me kill her in front of you and I needed to take that anger out of someone." He said.

" And you started killing again." Avalon said, making him nod. Gideon leaned forward, stretching an arm and hand out to her. Against her better judgment, she took the offered hand. They both squeezed each other hard as they stared.

" I'm...I'm sorry, Sweetheart." Gideon did whisper. " I just wanted my family. I just wanted you." Avalon shook her head and swallowed again.

" You didn't want me. You wanted her, you wanted Abby and I'm not her. I'm sorry for what happen to you but you had no right to rip my family apart. You had no right to do to Randy what was done to you." She said. " I love you and I always will. In my heart, you will always be my dad but after today, I will not see you again. You took my mother and lied to me my entire life. You killed innocent people."

" So you are going to punish me than?" He asked as he covered their hands with his free one. " You are going to cut yourself from me? Yes, I did lie and I did kill your mother but I did it to save you. I did it because I love you so much. I love you more than Randy ever could. I love you more than Van ever will."

" Stop, Daddy, please." She said, refusing to allow her tears to come again. " This isn't about Randy and it's not about Van. This isn't about how much Randy would have loved me because we will never know the answer to that and this isn't about if Van will love me or not. Maybe he will one day and maybe he won't. This is about you and me. I won't come and see you again because what you did is disgusting and wrong but I will make you to promise. If you tell them everything they want to know, I will write you letters. I will maintain a level of contact with you if you do what you have always taught me, tell them the truth."

" Would that make you feel better?" Gideon asked.

" It will show me that you are sorry. If you try and make amends for everything, than I will not disappear from you. I don't want to because despite everything you have done, all your lies, all the deaths you have caused, the fact that you tried to kill Van and me..." Avalon's voice broke and she had to stop. She closed her eyes and felt her sadness wash over her and slip from her eyes. Gideon squeezed her with one hand and rubbed her with the other. Her upper body shook as she silently cried. She felt Gideon raise her hand up and brush his lips against her knuckles. She opened her eyes, shocked to see he was crying as well. "I love you."

" I love you, too." Gideon whispered.

" I'm angry at you. I'm confused. I'm hurt but I love you and I don't think I can cut you out of my life completely." She cleared her throat again. " But I can't see you anymore. I am grateful for the things you have taught me and shown me. I am grateful that I have seen and done things most people haven't but the truth is, you are a sick man and you need help. So if you tell them about the women and you try and remember where you buried all the bodies and you seek professional help, I will write to you and answer your letters." He nodded and kissed her skin again.

" Officer Miles can come in. I will give my confession but I want you to leave. For this, I don't want you listening." He said.

The door opened a few minutes later. Standing outside it was Van, Randy, and Chad. Miles walked in with a tape recorder and few pieces of paper. Avalon and Gideon stood up, moved around the table andembraced. She cried harder while he soothed her by running a hand through her hand and his other one against her back. He whispered over and over again how much he loved her because in his sick, twisted mind, he did. She had become his life. In the end, Avalon kissed his cheek, stroked his face for a few second then walked out, closing the door behind her.

NRNRNR

" So what will you do?" Avalon asked as she and Van stood outside the door to their new apartment, their arms around each other's waist. Randy was standing in front of the young couple with a small smile on his face.

" Well, I was actually thinking of moving here." He said, loving how her face brighten. " I think we have been apart enough." It had been a month after Gideon's arrest and Randy had been staying in the hotel still. He had helped the couple move when they found a place they liked and him and Avalon had beenworking on a relationship. Both understood they might never have a father/daughter relationship but neither were willing to not have contact. They had been getting together most nights for dinner with Van and Chad and taking one night a week to have dinner alone.

" Are you serious?" She asked.

" Yeah. I actually already contact a Realtor and he is putting my house on the market. I found a little house here and I'm in the process of buying it. I need to go home and pack everything up but I will be back in a week. My family and your mother's family would like to come and see you but I told them to hold off a bit. I'd like to have a little more time with you." Randy said, making her smile. " Mary's family is...intense. They are a good group of people and have supported me even after you and her disappeared but they are loud and active. I think you and I should have a little bit more quiet time before they come."

" That sounds great." Avalon said. Randy smiled and looked at Van.

" Take care of our girl." He said as the two shook hands.

" I will." Van promised.

" And please, please, please, teach her to drive better." Randy said, throwing a wink to his daughter.

" Give me a break! I'm still learning!" She defended, making the two men laugh. She smiled and leaned her head against Van's chest, turning so she was facing his side. She snuggled into him and put her other arm around his waist.

" Anyway, when I get back, you guys can help me move into my new place then we can have a big dinner, us three and Chad. Sound good?" Randy asked.

" Yes, Sir." Van said.

" Alright then. I have to go or I'll miss my flight." Randy gave her arm a small pinch before he turned and head over to his rental car.

" You good?" Van asked, rubbing his chin into the top of her head.

" Yeah, you?" She asked.

" Yeah. I'm thinking tonight we should just kick back, watch a movie and smoke a bit." He said while they watched Randy walk around his car.

" That sounds prefect." She tilted her head up and smiled at him. Van grinned before he dipped his head down and gave her a light kiss.

" It's gonna be good now, Avs. I promise." He whispered.

The End!


End file.
